Joe

Congrats for waiting this long - many parents don’t.

Honestly, this will depend on your child. If they are prone to addictive or obsessive behaviour, a smart phone will only amplify the tendancy. We already know how hard it is for adults to put down their phones for any length of time, and kids typically have less will power.

That said - digital communication is an important part of most people’s lives now. If all her friends are using a particular app to communicate, they will “need” it too. Some parental controls would be good for the first phone – which apps get installed, etc. Just be prepared to unlock most of them. ;-)

You might want a phone “lockbox” at home to ensure they turn off. Hopefully the school is strict about phone usage and etiquette too - it can help.

What is the typing experience that you want, and for which language(s). It’s not clear to me, sorry.

It is possible to map keyboard input in various ways. For more complex use-cases, many programs support character substitution as you type (eg. gx could become ĝ automatically).

What a Tosser with his T-mobile.

I vote in my country, not yours.

From my brief time exploring it, many there seem to think the end always justifies the means, and are oblivious to the means being the likely effective end. For example: China is apparently only temporarily embracing capitalism on its way to utopian communism. I haven’t followed the trump support that was alluded to here, but I assume it’s similarly reaching the limits of their forward reasoning. At some point, some talking points pop into their head to reinforce or build on their existing beliefs, and they pat themselves and their fellow comrades on the back.

Some are well prepared to run circles around you with their well trained mental gymnastics. It’s not dissimilar to the flat earthers, or other conspiracy theorists. You just have to believe to be saved (from critical thinking). It’s best not to engage, but rather observe from a distance.

Not sure it’s essential, but it seems the norm.

Anything that helps breaks the twit’s influence is useful for now, though.