parents aren't letting their kids have phones or social media. Just letting you know that isn't the case, and while every parent chooses their own way, usually these threads are only representative of one side. We let our kids have limited use of social media at 14 and they have phones etc. Like most things, it's the extent of the use that's the issue. And like said above, private text conversations or using another kids phone for snapchat etc is always the biggest concern. In any case, I believe in building kids up to be able to responsibly handle phones and media when they go out alone. I have way too many examples of my extended family where their parents severely limited them at home and when they left for college it was a disaster. Again, personal opinion.