My seventh-grade daughter claimed to be the only one in her class who didn't have a cell phone yet. 
While that didn't bother us too much, it was socially unbearable for her.
For a while, her best friend was in the same boat. The two of them, each time they got together, would compose little skits about why they needed cell phones, and then perform them for any parents who were around. They'd barrage us with notes that said things like "cell phone plzzzzzzzzz!!!" and give us the big Bambi eyes. And for a long time, that got them nowhere.
Then her best friend's older brother bought her a prepaid phone for her birthday--with his own money. So we were the last ones to cave in.
When my daughter's birthday rolled around, we got her a cell phone--with unlimited texting. I think she talks on the phone for about 15 minutes a month, but her fingers are always flying on that phone keyboard. I don't regret the text plan for her or for her brother. I think teenagers need to have an "out" when they find themselves in situations where they're uncomfortable--a party gone bad, for example. My teens know that they can text me when they need a ride out of there. If their friends see them texting, they don't think they're talking to Mom, so there's no loss of dignity.
So as long as she doesn't use the phone at school, in church, or at mealtimes, I'm OK with it.
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