Should a 13 year old have an iPhone?

[Randi]

I'm 13 and our family didn't buy Christmas presents yet! I was hoping to get an iPhone 5, or even a 4s (my mom's old one), but my parents (mom especially) firmly believe that a 13 year old shouldn't have an iPhone. I don't want to sound like a brat, but I get good grades and I've been wanting a new phone for a while. Right now, I have a prepaid LG Optimus One which was already an entry-level phone almost three years ago, and it's so buggy and lags forever.

I think that my parents' unwillingness to listen to my reasoning or negotiate (skip a Christmas present and buy it in the spring for my birthday) is a little unfair. Again, I don't want to sound like a brat but it kinda hurts seeing so many kids YOUNGER than me having these great phones while I'm stuck with an older device. I also wanted an iPhone because I'm going to be travelling to New York and Oregon with my school and I wanted a phone that I could take with me that would also work as a camera. Recently, I've found myself always having to borrow my parents' iPhones to take pictures, look things up, use apps like Instagram, and tweet.

One of the issues that my dad has of buying me an iPhone 5 is that he doesn't want me to have a better phone than my mom, who has a 4s. That WOULD be understandable, but the thing is that my mom doesn't care at all what kind of phone she has. She's honestly never been that type of person, so I'm confused about how this would make sense in our family.

TL;DR, do you think it would be alright for a 13 year old to have an iPhone?

[Ryan]

YES

[Nerissa Nicole]

I guess. I've seen children younger than you with iPhones.

I'm 18 and I still can't convince my parents to get me an iPhone. >.<

[Emma]

yes.i'm 13 and have one. but i know a lot of people believe what your mom does so good luck

[Fénris]

No why would you need one? Get an iPod instead.

[256]

If you're parents have the money and are willing to pay for it and the bills, who really cares?

[Colin]

No friggin' way! Are you familiar with a "boom box", or a "Walkman"? I was younger than you when I asked for one of those, and my parents denied me. It's just the way it is; parents and people older than you unfairly think that it's better for your development in the long run if you do things the old school way. I used to disagree until I got older and started running my own business. Now, I think you brats can go play in traffic if you think that the world should be handed to you on a platter. Earn what you have, and the rest of the world will respect you. Take it for what it's worth, but a few years without the latest technology will only make you stronger if you truly want it to.

[alexa.]

Sure, only if the person is responsible (and won't break the phone two days of having it) and gets good grades (tries hard, does their school work), I think they should be able to have an iPhone!

[247]

13 year olds don't NEED an iPhone, but neither does anyone. I'm not going to raise hell if a 13 year old has one though... It's a phone, not a machine gun for crying out loud.

[767]

Depends who pays and whether you deserved it.