What phones don’t have data plans? Also that’s going to mean they can’t use useful stuff like iMessage.

Text messages exist

Yeah and now your kid is the weird one with the green messages who isn’t invited to the group chats.

Teach your kids it's okay to be to take another path; it's literally the only way to achieve more.

It’s not okay though. It just makes people unhappy for no good reason.

It makes your kids unhappy to not have unsupervised access to the internet? Guess we should just let them do what they like? They'll be super happy then.

If kids are left out of things like group chats with their friends they’ll feel like outsiders

This is true to some extent, but not in a simple and categorical way.

We should really think more about how we want our kids to grow and discover the (online) world, and sheltering them from everything controversial or have their parents dictate every content they can and cannot access until they’re 18, doesn’t look like an actual viable option to me.

Why not?

For the same reason they shouldn't have firearms. People shouldn't let their kids be unsupervised with even a very useful item where the risk is high and they haven't yet developed the self-control to use it wisely. Eventually you have to let go, but that transition time is critical.

Jason is correct. Techonology outpaces parents ability to police it in the majority of cases.