A majority of Americans still believe that young people should not own their own cell phone before the age of 15.
The Rasmussen Report’s latest national telephone and online survey found that 42% of American adults believe it is appropriate for young people between the ages of 11 and 14 to have a cell phone. Another 33% believe it is more appropriate for children to wait until they are 15 or 16 to get a smartphone. (To see the wording of the survey question, click here.)
The survey of 1,291 American adults was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from August 12-14, 2024. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports polls is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See Methodology.
Eighty-three percent (83%) believe that young people spend too much time on their mobile phones. Only seven percent (7%) disagree and 10% are not sure.
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