Think about the time when young children first started receiving phones. Children these days are getting phones as young as six. According to statistics, three million kids do not go to school each month because of cyberbullying. Even worse, 4,500 kids commit suicide due to cyberbullying. Furthermore, children can be easily harmed by an online predator. Parents and guardians today need to become more aware of the risk of giving phones to children. Children under the age twelve should not be given a phone because of privacy concerns and the unhealthy dependence on technology.

To start, privacy concerns have become a rising problem as more kids interact with unknown people online. When a child is given a phone, privacy concerns become the main issue because children are the main victims of predators. When a child reveals his or her name and everyday whereabouts, there is a high risk that strangers will pretend to be someone else and try to trick the child into becoming friends. Online predators try to form a bond and trust system with children, knowing they can be easily influenced. With the risk of online tracking, strangers will try to meet children and eventually harm them. Because kids are likely to reveal their personal information online, child predators take advantage and track them. Although children may think they are going to meet a friend, they are not aware that their “friend” could be a child predator. In the end, children can be in danger when it comes to privacy concerns through technology.

Next, as a child is given more and more freedom on a phone, unhealthy dependence on the technology occurs. Also, phones are a big distraction because the idea of a cell phone to kids is more interesting than school. Because of this, children start not completing their homework because they are addicted to their phones. While there is a problem in school, kids also start to neglect their chores and everyday duties. Following this, as the child becomes used to having a phone, he or she begins to be set off track. Studies have shown that children are distracted because the cell phone becomes an addiction and necessity in the child’s life. As this unhealthy dependence on technology occurs, children become more forgetful because of the phone. Because of the unhealthy dependence on a phone, children are set off track and start neglecting what they are supposed to do.

However, the main reason parents have started to give their children a phone is so that the kids could contact them. Since children do need a form of access to their parents, cell phones are very useful. Nevertheless, children as young as six should not be without a parent for a long enough time that the child would need to contact his or her parents. Most children that young are never without a parent, so young kids do not need a phone that causes more risks than advantages. If children are given phones at such a young age, there will be a risk that their lives are no longer safe. Again, children should not be given a phone under the age twelve because it is not a necessary part of their lives.

To conclude, due to the risk factor of strangers and distractions, young children should not be given a phone. Privacy concerns and the unhealthy dependence on technology both create a chance of danger towards a child’s life. As people grow older, most start parenting children. Besides all the risks given, there is a question of why children should be given a phone that could potentially be the cause of the bullying. Why are children given a phone in their hands that could be easily be tracked by strangers and child molesters? For children to be safe from strangers and harmful effects, they should not be given a phone while they are under the age twelve. If parents wait a few more years until the child is more mature, children’s lives would not be in as much danger.