When Should Kids Get Their Own Cell Phone?
A majority of Americans still don’t believe young people should have their own cell phones before age 15.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 42% of American Adults think it is appropriate for young people to have a cell phone between ages 11 and 14. Another 33% think it’s more appropriate for children to wait until 15 or 16 to first get a smartphone. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The survey of 1,291 American Adults was conducted on August 12-14, 2024 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Eighty-three percent (83%) believe young people spend too much time on their cell phones. Just seven percent (7%) disagree, while 10% are not sure.
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