Son is 16, best friend is 17, they go to the same high school. Best friend’s family’s wealthy. He bought son a brand new iPhone 16 Pro Max & a pair of AirPods Pro 2, so they can “match”. Son’s obviously very happy, but I think it’s a bit too much. I called the parents and they said it’s fine, it’s just pocket change.
Why not? If they are not old enough to drive or go places on their own the phone is probably the main way they communicate outside of school. My family does hand me down phones for kids and I could imagine having compatibility issues like old android vs new iPhone can’t video chat easily or whatever.
I’m not saying this is for sure the case, but I can envision a world where having compatible phones makes some things easier. It is surely not as bad as the good old days when some people had flip phones and some had smart phones. But there still may well be a gap.
I’m not arguing they shouldn’t have a phone. I’m saying there is absolutely no need to have exactly the same model and headphones.
That’s says there is something wrong with their social group.