As we know by middle school, it’s very common to see a phone in a kids backpack. Some parents may wait until after the first year of high school to get their child a phone, and others may give their child a phone before even entering middle school. 

To get a better understanding of how students fit technology into their lives, a short survey was sent out to all of Catholic Central’s students asking them when they were given their first phones, when they created their first social media account, and if they believed they got their phones too soon or too late. 

According to the survey 43.1% of the students said they got their phones around the ages of 11-13. Another 39.9% said they got their phones between the ages of 13-15, and 18.1% said before the age of 10. 

In the survey, they were also asked what was the reason for why they got their first phone. 43.1% of the respondents said it was to stay in touch with their family. While another 19.7%  said it was for sports and activities outside of school and 13.3% said it was to be in contact with friends. 13.1% of the responders said it was a hand-me-down, percentages under 2% include for games, age requirements reached, and medical reasons. 

The students were also asked what age they got their first social media app, 38.2% said they got social media for the first time between the ages of 13-15, while 35.5% said it was between the ages of 11-13. Another group of 11.8% said they were under the age of 10, and 11.7% said they still have no social media. The majority of the students claimed their first social media app was Snapchat with 30.7%. Another 25.3% said Instagram was their first social media and 22.7% said Tiktok was their first media. Smaller percentages include Discord, Pinterest, Facebook, and House Party.

It was also asked if they believed they were provided with a phone at a young age, about the right age or too late. 32.5% said they believed it was at a decent age, that they knew how to handle the responsibility of having a device and social media. 20.3% claimed it was too early and that they were exposed to social media at a very young age leading to some of them relying on their phones 24/7. 18.9% claimed they got their phones too late, and that they felt left out because many people already had a phone by middle school. Although they said it was too late, many of them said it helped them not become addicted to their phones and actually have a childhood without being worried about the public.