Cell Phones
 

How old were you when you got your first cell phone?
How young do you think is too young to have one?

I got a cell phone 7 years ago when I was a junior in high school.

My younger cousin just got one, she is in the 7th grade. My boyfriend owns his own communications store, and he said some parents came in to get one for their son who is in the fifth grade!

I guess I forget to mention the reason that I asked the question...
My step-daughter is 13 and in the 8th grade and that is what she wants for Christmas. So I was just curious as to what the "proper age" is these days. I didn't get my cell phone until I was in college and I had to take on the responsibility of the bill myself. I just think there is a lot of responsibility that comes with things like cell phones and am not sure at what age you can handle that responsibility.

i got one the day i got my license at 16 and a half. my parents didn't want me out driving without one. but i was very restricted on the calls i could make on it. junior year of college was when i got one that i could use all the time.

Sophomore year of college I got my first one. It basically was a way to save money as an alternative to getting a landline.

I think age depends on the person. If someone's paying for it on their own, then let them get it at whatever age they want. If not, it depends on the person's understanding of cell phones (costs, roaming, etc.).

Freshman year of college...when my mom was outraged at paying phone bills at 2 different colleges (mine and my brothers) and for when both of us would make our drives to school. We had a family plan, but were always responsible for overage charges.

I got my first one when I went away to college because my parents wanted to know my drive was safe. However I rarely used it at all. As a Sophmore in college I got one that I used a lot more.

I don't know what cell phone plans are like in your area but in Northern California there are a couple of companies that provide an unlimited plan for about $35.00. It is a great deal for teens who talk on them all the time. My boss let her 14 year old daughter get one on this plan because she could all she wanted.

Got mine when I started driving....for the times when I was going to be later than I thought, or for emergency use. Then when I moved to college, it was the only phone I had. I'm so used to having one now, that it's all I use! I don't even use the house phone at all.

I don't really see the need for a phone until you start driving. I'm sure there are other circumstances that might warrant having one, but I don't know what they are. I wouldn't have needed one before I started driving.

I was 17 when I first got a cell phone. Only reason I got it was because I had also just gotten my first car and my parents wanted me to have it just in case. It was my bro's old cell phone. It was quite shitty, but I wasn't gonna complain. I got a much better one right before I left for college.

I was 17, then working at RadioShack. I was allowed to bypass the credit check, and back then Sprint PCS wasn't doing contracts. I think it was my senior year of HS. That would have been back in '96.

I got my first cell phone in college. I was 20. I only had it for a few months then I recently got another one this summer. In high school I had a pager.

23..but then again it is because cell phones were not really considered a neccissity until then!
Silver

I was 22.

PB, I understand what you are saying. I can't fathom what a 13 year old would do with a cell phone, other than run up the minutes.

Maybe it is a good thing-- you can set up a restricted plan and set limits for her now (like the phone is used only on weekends, and never in school), and consequences for abusing phone privileges (like having to do extra house chores to pay down overage charges, and loss of phone privileges or other things). It could be a good way to teach her responsibility. In a few years, you can do the same with a debit card and teach her about credit card debt.

This way, when she gets to college some day, she won't have the added stress of freaking out about learning to manage finances for the first time-- she'll have had practice at home.

1997...I was 18, a freshman in college and it was around the time cell phones were getting smaller and everyone was getting one. At that time I also got my first job, so I was responsible for paying my own monthly bills. At that time I was paying like $29.99 for like, 300 minutes + unlimited weekends or something like that.

I don't know when it'd be an appropriate age to get a phone. Kids these days are so spoiled with technology and the like, but if your stepdaughter is responsible and she's able to "pay" for her bills by doing chores around the house, then maybe getting her a phone won't be too bad, especially if her dad wants to keep tabs on her. 13 isn't so bad, I think. 5th graders and elementary school kids though? Now that's crazy...they shouldn't be hanging out away from their parents for long periods of time anyway.

From 9th-12th grade in HS I had a pager, and while I didn't have a job then, I did errands and chores for my mom in order to "pay her back" for her taking care of the pager bills.

I wish somebody would uninvent cell phones. I hate the damned things.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

My first cell phone was in 1998, my freshman year in college. In high school, I just always took my mom's and used it.

I got my first cell phone in 1998. I had just graduated college and was starting a job that required a lot of travel, and I wanted a phone that I could use in emergencies and a number that I could always be reached at. I got Bell Atlantic Mobile's bare-bones minimum plan...

I think maybe 15 or so is the right age for a teenager to get a cell phone - maybe a prepaid one so the kid can't go out and run up a huge phone bill - if you run out of minutes, tough.

I got my first cell phone at the age of 34. That was in 1999. I was dead set against them because I don't like how dependent people are on them in general. However, I got in a car accident on a January day when the temperature was below zero. I had my 5 year old daughter in the car with me and was freaking out that I had no way to contact anybody if the car was damaged. Thankfully, the car wasn't damaged, but it dawned on me that there are not pay phones on every corner like there used to be, so our next stop that day was the cell phone store. I still don't use it that much although I cancelled long distance on the home phone because I can call my dad for free on the cell and never use all the minutes. I don't even turn it on most of the time, unless I know that my ex-husband or kids will be trying to reach me.

That said, my 10 year old (5th grade) daughter is DYING to get a cell phone. Two of her friends have them. I am not getting her one. I told her straight out "You are never in a situation where there is not a phone available for you to use for free, you are never unsupervised without a phone available to use, there is no need for you to have a cell phone". I even confronted one of the mom's whose daughter has one and said (in a kind voice) "I blame you for Shannon wanting a cell phone because you started this trend!". She told me that her daughter, Stephanie, bought the phone with money she got for her birthday and has to buy the cards with minutes with her own money. She is quickly realizing that it was a waste of her money because she uses it so rarely and the novelty has worn off.

I will consider it when my daughter has reached an age that she and her friends are going places and being dropped off without an adult with them and even then, there will be very strict rules about its use. When she drives, she will definitely have one. Back in my day, we couldn't leave without 20 cents (Yes, ONLY 20 cents) to make a phone call from a pay phone, but there really aren't pay phones around like there used to be, so at some point, a cell becomes a necessity for safety reasons.

Dee

I was 19 when I got my first cell phone, a clunky old Nokia, in 2001. My mom insisted I get it (and she footed the bill), as driving conditions can get really nasty in Alaska.

One of the first things I did in the UK was get a new mobile, just because I'm always running around and it's the easiest way of getting ahold of me. Besides, I have a good plan with lots of free weekend minutes that when used with a calling card, make for really cheap international calls. :)

~ShyViolet

I think I got my first cell phone in 6th grade (1997). Both my parents worked and I had a habit of locking myself out of the house. Since my dad worked nearby, they figured I could use it to call him if I needed him to open up. I walked home a lot too and had a few incidents where my parents felt a cell phone would be a good safety tool.

It's amazing how far technology has come.... the batteries used to die so quickly, they were big and chunky, no caller id, voicemail, pretty displays, cameras. it's crazy.

Now, I can't imagine myself without my cell phone.... it's what I use to stay connected with my family when I'm at school (free long distance, free nights and weekends, and the "IN" network).

I got my first cell phone in 1997 at the age of 23. I got it because my job was 99% travel and I needed a means to be reached. I took out a 2 year contract and the rate was $17.95/month and 15 cents/minute (I think weekends were free). My phone was one of those large dark gray Motorola flip phones that was about the size and weight of a soda pop can.

The thing was, because the cellular industry was still in its infancy, and because I was working in small rinky-dink towns, roaming charges were the norm, and they were like 45 cents/minute.

To make a long story short, because of financial problems I incurred later on, I reneged on the contract and owed $760 in fees, penalties, and charges. Because I filed for Chapter 7, I never had to pay it.

The phone, believe it or not I kept until about a year ago, which I gave to my dad--he actually likes the big cell phones; he doesn't care for the smaller bells-and-whistles phones that are so popular nowadays.

How young is too young for a cell phone--I don't know; I don't have kids--I'll havta get back to you on that one.

I'm the oldest of 6, and as many of you have said, lots of kids in middle school and younger have cell phones, so of course my brothers and sisters all want them too. But, like AGDee said, they're really never in a situation where they would need one. We have a cell phone assigned to each car, so that if you're out driving and get in an accident, you'll be able to call for help. Other than that, no one has one. (Well, except me cuz I don't live there anymore, I need mine for work.:) ) I say, unless you feel your daughter needs one for safety reasons...it would be a waste of money.

COSIGN

I got my first cell phone in grad school. I was about 25 at the time, but cell phones weren't that accessible or cost-affordable prior to that time.

I got mine after my sister was involved in a hit-and-run in a bad neighborhood. She had a cell phone and called 911 as she was trapped in the middle of a bad intersection. The police were there in minutes. Since then, I've always kept a cell phone on me.

got my first phone maybe 3 years ago.

does anyone here have the new motorola razr v3? i want one. it looks bad azz!

I was a freshman in high school when I started doing afterschool activities and might need a cell phone. Emergency use only. I had prepaid and I think it a great idea to start. If she wants to gab all day she can get a job or do errands, and use her pittance for another phone card. Controlled bills are wonderful things.

LOL! That's exactly what happened to me! It was junior year of college when my parents transferred the account into my name. Then, I paid for it and did my own minutes upgrades and such. (I was a bit spoiled before that!)

I got mine in 1997, I think once you have a car you should also have a cell phone.

Got mine in '99, when I was 18 and a freshman in college.

I think if parents are going to give their kids one, it should be the pre-paid kind... to prevent ridiculous overuse.

I got my cell phone my senior year of high school when I got my car. They pay for the cell phone every month, and the car and insurance of course. Gotta love the parents!

I do, it's fabulous. Highly recommended.

in 1998 when i was 28

I just got my first cell phone this past Saturday. My mom works for Cingular, and their employee plan just kicked in this past week. I made her put me on it.

I was 21.I got my cell phone during the summer when the story of a missing college student named Tammie Cwicki(sp?) hit the headlines. Her car died while on the highway,she accepted a ride from a trucker ,and was found dead months later. Cell phone sales spiked in our area after the story came out. I thought it was a good idea since I was driving to an out of state college myself.

Giving a kid a cell phone when in grade school or middle school, is ludicrous. I agree with AGDee. After a high school student has gotten their liscense, the cell phone should be pre-paid.

I got my first cell phone in 1998 - big ole Nokia phone at that.

My brother who is now 14 and in his first year of highschoo has a T-Mobile SideKick. I guess he has more of a social life than I do. Go figure!

I don't even remember when I got my first cell-- I had one in college, towards the end antway-and I graduated in 96

I remember having Sprint when I was pregnant with my oldest--- My service was jacked up one day and I was having contractions. I called my husband, network dropped the call and then kept getting the Sprint customer rep. I told her I couldn't get thru-she explained there was network problems and it would be a couple of hours. I lost it and screamed that I was in labor and I wanted my husband NOW! She told me that cell to cell wouldn't work --after enough fit throwing she managed to get me connected to my husband. It was false labor-no kid--but I figured out a panicy, foul mouthed prego on the phone can get anything she wants!

As far as what age kids should get phone- I am not sure--my oldest is 7--so no phone for him yet-though he wants one. My little cousin got one for Xmas last yr---he was 9 at the time! We were all a little speechless about that one!

I got my first cell in Aug of 2001 when I graduated, moved, got the new job thing. I had one of those "big" Nokia ones and then got the littler one with color screen, and then I got my newest one (Nokia 6102) Saturday. Both times I replaced the phone, I put the retired one in the glove box of my car with the charger. The memory is cleared out, and it won't call out or call in, BUT 911 will work. (just in case...)

My family has had a cell phone for quite a few years that was pay as you go. The phone itself was a monster. A big clunky gray Motorola one that a bottom 3" flap part flipped down to talk into, the antenae had to be pulled up four inches, and the part that you held onto was probably at least two inches thick. The thing probably weighed at least a few pounds. My dad continued to use that amidst the chuckles of coworkers ("What? It works great! Why replace it?") until last year when he lost it...how you lose something that big is beyond me. It turned up two days after he caved in and bought a new one 1/4 the size.

When is too young for one? Middle school and under. I had a student in my fourth grade class bring his in, and it was then promptly taken by me. You're NINE!!! Who is calling you during the day!?

Huh. I got my first cell phone in 1998. At that point, I didn't even have a driver's license. But, believe it or not, it was my parent's idea. Smart people they are. :P

Re: Cell Phones
 

I got my first cell phone when i was around a junior in high school. I think that if you are younger than a freshman in high school, then you shouldn't have one...there really is no point. High school is when you really have those extracurricular activities that extend past school hours. It eliminates a lot of hassle and worry. Like my cousin, she's a senior in high school and does not have a cell phone. There are times where her mom can't get out of work and is scrambling to find someone to pick her up when if (my cousin) had a cell phone all my aunt would have to do is call her and tell her walk home or get a ride from a friend.

I think the best type of phone to get a high schooler (or even an 8th grader) are one of those "pay as you go" phones. Then you can really keep track on how much the child/teenager uses the phone and they only have a certain amount of minutes to use and that's it. I have a friend who is a sophomore in high school and that is the type of phone she has. She says it works well b/c she doesn't have to worry about how many minutes she has, or have to worry about getting charged overage or nothing like that. It really makes you use the phone in emergency times and not just to "chit chat."