yeah I think there is a way to do this elegantly. I didn't have my own device until I was 20 or so actually, and it wasn't a big problem. As a young teenager I could use the family desktop for education and entertainment. I had online friends in my late teens I played games with, and would have done much more so if I had a more more powerful cpu lol. Should mention though, these friends were through in person networks on discord, so I wasn't really in the public square I guess.

So I could explore things but not get into anything naughty.

When I decided to get into software dev I got my own cpu and my own phone once I had a job in dev.

Might seem pretty conservative but it worked, and I'm technical enough now. I wish I would have got into coding earlier but I've done alright so :shrug: Depending on the environment for my kids I'd move the timeline back a little, but not too much. Having too much time and just the unfiltered internet to fill it is too dangerous for young teens.