Please Mom & Dad, All My Friends Have An iPhone & Snapchat!
- The White Hatter
- Oct 3
- 3 min read
As parents and caregivers, few decisions feel as weighty as deciding when and how to introduce your child to their first phone. It’s a rite of passage for many families, but it also comes with significant risks. At The White Hatter, we don’t recommend starting with a fully functioning fusion phone (smartphone). (1) Instead, we suggest minimalist phones such as the Pinwheel Phone, or the WisePhone, for younger kids the Garmin Bounce watch (2), these are devices that allow calling and texting but do not connect to web browsers or social media platforms.
One of the most common objections parents and caregivers hear from their child is, “All my friends are on Snapchat or Instagram. If I can’t join them, I’ll be left out.” We get it, this plea can tug at the heart of parents and caregivers. No parent wants their child excluded from their peer group.
However, here’s the reality, even if your child is on Snapchat, being “left out” can still happen. The difference, now your child will acutely be aware of it, whether through their friends ghosting them, being left out of group chats, or seeing plans unfold online without them. This is something that we have seen time and time again here at the White Hatter. Sometimes, not having access to that constant comparison can actually be less painful. Also, by not allowing the use of Snapchat at earlier ages, you are helping them to not get lost in it’s algorithms, that can habituate them to doom scrolling and sometimes inappropriate content at younger ages.
It’s important to remember that minimalist phones still provide the essentials when it comes to communicating with others in a digital format:
Calling and texting friends and family.
Group text chats, which allow your child and their closest friends to stay connected in a shared space.
The key difference is that these interactions remain encrypted and more private. Unlike social media platforms, minimalist phones do not collect and monetize your child’s data, conversations, or habits for profit.
If your child’s peers refuse to include them because they don’t have Snapchat or Instagram, it’s worth asking your child, “Are those truly friends?” Genuine friendships aren’t defined by a social media app. Kids who want to connect will still find ways to talk, laugh, and share experiences outside of those platforms, again something that we have continually seen here at the White Hatter.
Choosing a minimalist phone, without access to Snapchat, may feel like you’re asking your child to swim against the current. But giving them a minimalist phone that promotes communication without unnecessary exposure to some of the risks of social media at younger ages is a protective step. It helps them build healthy digital habits before stepping into the more complex world of fully functioning and connected fusion phones such as an iPhone or Android phone.
The bottom line, a phone doesn’t have to mean a giving youth younger child a fully functioning fusion phone (smartphone) that were never designed with youth and younger teens in mind. Minimalist phones allow kids to stay connected without opening the door to pressures, risks, and data collection tied to social media until they are mature enough to graduate to a fully functioning iPhone or Android device. Sometimes, less really is more.
POST SCRIPT:
We understand that not every family can afford to purchase a new minimalist phone. For many, the realistic choice is a hand-me-down fusion phone, often an iPhone. In these situations, you can still create a more minimalist experience by using the built-in parental controls along with third-party tools that we recommend that include: “The Brick”(3) and “BrightCanary”(4). While this setup doesn’t provide the same structure as a true minimalist phone, it does offer a more guided and safer option for a hand-me-down device.
Digital Food For Thought
The White Hatter
Facts Not Fear, Facts Not Emotions, Enlighten Not Frighten, Know Tech Not No Tech
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