Our children’s first mobile phone: what a refurbished device offers versus a new one

20 Aug. (Portaltic/EP) –

Families are hurrying through summer vacation with their sights set on back to school and in the novelties that their youngest children will find, such as receiving their first mobile phonea piece of equipment that must be adapted to your needs and that can be found within the refurbished offer.

There is no specific age to give children their first mobile phone, although reality shows that in Spain 22 percent of minors have one of these devices at the age of 10, 38.1 percent at the age of 11 and 63.9 percent at the age of 12. At 15, the figure reaches 93 percent, according to data from the INE’s Survey on Equipment and Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Households.

Digital education, maturity and autonomy of the minor These are the main indicators that parents must take into account when deciding if it is time to give the child their first mobile, a decision that also implies choosing the most suitable mobile for their needs.

From the SMAAART company they point out that the best thing is that it be “simple, economical, sustainable and with a guarantee”, and they defend that “the best alternative” is a reconditioned device, because in addition to becoming “between 30% and 50% more cheaper than a new mobile”, you can find options that offer “simple navigation” and “have the basics to communicate with friends, access educational games and take your first photos or videos“.

They also understand that choosing a refurbished phone contributes to educate children in caring for the planet, since “80% of the environmental footprint of a mobile comes from its manufacture,” they point out in a statement.

“For each reconditioned phone, the emission of 83kg of CO2 is saved, the extraction of 259kg of raw materials and the use of 80m3 of water, an impact that you can avoid with responsible purchases”, they conclude from SMAAART.