A grandmother's question: How young is too young for a smartphone?

A girl uses a mobile phone as she takes a bus in Beijing, China. Last month United Nations called for a ban on smartphones and smartwatches at school, no matter the age of the user. — AFP

MIAMI: A 10-year-old at the cusp of a birthday is begging for a smartphone in the way only 10-year-olds can - with lots of whining and single-minded determination. Her parents, however, are just as adamant in their denial. No means no, case closed.

Desperate, she turned to me, her grandmother, for support, zeroing in on the one factor that gets me every time. "If I had a phone, we could talk when you wanted," she said. "We wouldn't have to wait for my parents to FaceTime."