at what age should you buy ... for your kids or grandkids?

[SeijiSensei]

I gave my daughter a cell phone at twelve because family issues required she be able to contact me. One size doesn't fit all.

[uRock]

.... One size doesn't fit all.

Truth. I wouldn't have given my kid on if she'd grown up where we're living now. No gangs, low crime, no 24 hour bars, and people in my area much nicer.

[TheFu]

What is the correlation between buying internet devices and living near gangs? Seems that NOT having any electronics or money would be safer, especially for a child. I'm probably missing something. Wouldn't be the first time.

I grew up with dangers from nature, not other humans. Rattle snakes, cotton mouths, mtn lion, bear, wild boar, coyotes, deer, spiders and alligators. Never felt any danger in the front of our houses, but either the back yard or nearby nature areas/parks was a different thing entirely for children. Just like we all teach our kids to swim, we taught ours about the dangers in nature and how to be safe. We don't have mtg lions here and alligators are 90 minutes south, but everything else can be seen on our critter-cams a few times yearly, if not 3x a week. Deer is probably the most dangerous to humans - hitting a deer in a car can be really bad.

[uRock]

What is the correlation between buying internet devices and living near gangs?

Being able to hide and call for help. I could and did track her on FamilyMap when he was supposed to be on her way home. The gangs of Vegas's target isn't robbery.

[Skaperen]

i've seen videos, perhaps staged, of how easy it is to steal a phone from a hand or shirt pocket, or a wallet from a back pocket. it happens more in the dangerous areas, but can happen anywhere. smaller phones might help. those with secure access that can burn a key permanently in the CPU could help cut this trend by making the hardware unusable if stolen. another approach that has been done is for the security to not block access, but to include the CPU ID in all communications and pings that cannot be disabled. but as the prices of phones go down, providers and police are less encouraged to track down the thieves. maybe at some point, the value will be so low that thieves won't bother. we're not there, yet.

[uRock]

i've seen videos, perhaps staged, of how easy it is to steal a phone from a hand or shirt pocket, or a wallet from a back pocket. it happens more in the dangerous areas, but can happen anywhere. smaller phones might help. those with secure access that can burn a key permanently in the CPU could help cut this trend by making the hardware unusable if stolen. another approach that has been done is for the security to not block access, but to include the CPU ID in all communications and pings that cannot be disabled. but as the prices of phones go down, providers and police are less encouraged to track down the thieves. maybe at some point, the value will be so low that thieves won't bother. we're not there, yet.

She has a good lock on it, though I am sure there are ways to reload a phone even with Samsung's protections. I wasn't worried too much about her phone being stolen. I was more worried about them trying to pressure her into a car. I've ran off punks her were trying to pick up teenagers in my old neighborhood more than once. Nothing makes my blood boil more than seeing a girl crying, because a car load of dirt bags are trying to get her in a car. I can't go into much more detail without breaking our CoC. It's a shame a kid can't just be a kid in areas like that.

[poorguy]

I gave all the grandkids their own computers and they were happy.

I think that they would have been happier if I'd given them cell phones.

I'll let their parents decide when that time is best.

[TheFu]

Being able to hide and call for help. I could and did track her on FamilyMap when he was supposed to be on her way home. The gangs of Vegas's target isn't robbery.

Couldn't imaging living anywhere with gangs or really much crime at all. It is a foreign idea to me, thankfully. I've lived in many different states and cities, but no gangs anywhere near our homes, ever.

[uRock]

Couldn't imaging living anywhere with gangs or really much crime at all. It is a foreign idea to me, thankfully. I've lived in many different states and cities, but no gangs anywhere near our homes, ever.

I'd never thought I'd live in such an area, either. It wasn't unusual to have the police helicopter circling the neighborhood at least once a week. SWAT hit the house across the street from me. The teen living there had been dealing drugs for a few years. He finally got busted. The day I handed the keys over to the realtor was one of the best days of my life.

[Skaperen]

i thought i grew up in a safe place. a small city nearby turns out to be the opioids capital of usa. that probably explains the murder of 8 members of one rural family nearby a couple years ago. at least i don't live down there, any more.