"Should parents set a minimum age or some restrictions for their children to own a smartphone, and if so what would they be?"

Such is the @ecoTrain Question of the Week! Wow, what a good and timely query.

While I do believe that each family needs to make their own decisions about these types of things, I have some interesting points to make along these lines.

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Earlier this year, I read this article

'Our minds can be hijacked': the tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia

It details the evolution of thought by Justin Rosenstein who was on the team who developed the "Facebook Like" to give a positive reward that keeps you seeking more.

Interestly enough, years later, he now has multiple Apps on his phone which limit his own use.

He's not the only one. Many people who help develop these technologies bar themselves from them by installing web browser plug-ins to eradicate their Facebook news feed, to having their assistants set up software on their phones that don't let them download apps. And, even more telling,

"It is revealing that many of these younger technologists are weaning themselves off their own products, sending their children to elite Silicon Valley schools where iPhones, iPads and even laptops are banned."

It's no surprise that the population is completely distracted by their Smart Phones. These are adults who are smart enough to create these technologies, but who still cannot withstand the allure or addictive nature of these products. They limit their kids' time on them and yet the average kid likely isn't even limited in these ways.

It was like a veil was taken off of my eyes when I read that article for the first time.

As you read on, you see even more measures taken by the people developing these apps:

Finally, Eyal confided the lengths he goes to protect his own family. He has installed in his house an outlet timer connected to a router that cuts off access to the internet at a set time every day. “The idea is to remember that we are not powerless,” he said. “We are in control.”

But are we? If the people who built these technologies are taking such radical steps to wean themselves free, can the rest of us reasonably be expected to exercise our free will?

These words are alarming for any of us to read. The creators of these programs are limiting their children and themselves. And even more worrisome,

A survey from Common Sense Media and SurveyMonkey found 47% of parents worry their child is addicted to their mobile device. By comparison, only 32% of parents say they're addicted themselves.

This @ecoTrain QotW comes at such a great time.

Parents absolutely need to set up a minimum age and restrictions for their children (and themselves) in relation to smart phones and associated technologies.

We as adults have a hard time limiting our smart phone use and even we have more psychological controls available to shift habits, our personalities are more formed, and we didn't grow up with them. Imagine how this is for kids!

I remember when the first friend of mine in high school got a regular cell phone.

It was really novel; we were about 15 years old and no one had one yet. Her mom was a single working mother who actually needed to have connection with her daughter.

Fast forward almost 20 years and 15 is a late age to get a cell phone. And they aren't just things you can call other people from, or play little games, they contain entire worlds with feedback loops through social media and access to the entire internet. That's a huge shift!!

I also remember when I was a kid, my sister and my parents set up limits for TV time and for video game use.

Likely when you're a kid, you're not happy about abiding by this, but this was a good rule as it encouraged us to doodle, go play outside (entire worlds with feedback loops there, too!), engage with other kids our age in the neighborhood and much more. Limiting TV time then wasn't exciting to us, but we didn't "get glued to the tube" either and for that I'm thankful.

When you're young, your brain is just forming, you're taking in incredible amounts of information about getting along with others, building relationships, you're navigating the world past just your immediate family more and more. Adding a smart phone into this mix is a completely new variable that we've never seen before.

I'm not sure on the exact age or restrictions to be imposed by each family, but I truly think it would be healthy to not let a young person have a phone until they're 16 years old. This is when you also start driving in the United States and getting some more freedoms. Having a phone for being able to make a call if something happens when you're driving or out and about with your friends is a good reason to have one. Before this, your parents are largely taking you everywhere and you don't really need a phone, map, etc.

I also think it's wise, as the creators of these technologies have shown us above, to limit the use of the phone.

Have a time each day that the internet is turned off or that the phone is put away. There should also be times when phone use is allowed. Say for an hour after homework is done. No phones at the dinner table would be a good rule, too, and then of course, turning off the internet in the evening, maybe at 9 pm.

Also, Iphones themselves allow parents to easily restrict use within the phone itself:

For the iPhone, go to Settings, then General, then scroll down to Restrictions. When you first enable restrictions, the device will ask you to create a four-digit PIN.

Restrictions allows parents to control everything from what apps kids can open to whether they can make purchases within apps. Users can also adjust the type of content kids can view based on ratings.

And if parent's need support, there's a "Wait Until 8th" they can be a part of (pledges to not get the kid a smart phone until 8th grade). If at least 10 families within one school make the pledge, it activates for that school. That way parents have solidarity in what can be an isolating decision.

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Personally, I saw a young girl, maybe around 10 years old glued to a phone yesterday as she was waiting for her mom to put groceries in the car.

She wasn't helping, but her neck was bent down (this causes health problems long term, too, by the way), her eyes fixed on the phone. I think at that age kids don't need to be involved in social media or all of the other things IPhones offer. I realize this may ostracize them from the swell of kids their age who have these phones, but I think it's healthier in the long run.

When you're developing who you are, you shouldn't be doing it over social media or inputing so many videos from YouTube. We get insecurities as adults from peering into the lives of others and I imagine its exponentially "worse" when you're in the fragile awkward stage of middle school or highschool.

In conclusion, I think that smart phone use should be carefully regulated by parents for their children and for themselves.

We all need to take to heart the way that the people who've created this technology are limiting themselves and their children. They've created these technologies to be addictive and we need to take note. It could be irreparable what happens to young minds: their communication habits and increasing inability to actually have real conversations with people in person. I think these are real things that are happening.

We've never before watched a generation grow up who have communicated with their peers and screens more than "in person" or "in the flesh." I for one think we need to think about the consequences of too much screen time and limit it before we lose an entire generation.

What do you think?

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