Do you trust an 8th grader with an iPhone?

Would you ever give an 8th grader an iPhone?

Nope. They're gonna break it, lose it, or overuse it.

No way. A 12 - 14 year old does not need a smart phone, although they definitely need a cell phone. Texting is an important part of a teenager's social life, but most importantly it's good that they are able to get in touch with you (and you with them). Set strict rules about calling you if they are out with friends for a certain amount of time so they know that in order to keep the phone, they need to use it to let you know where they are what they're doing.

But as for browsing the internet and using Facebook or Twitter, etc, if you have a computer in your house there's no reason for them to have it on their phone. It will encourage them not to waste all their time on social networking sites. Maybe when they're older and get a job and are willing to pay for the data plan themselves. Otherwise, I would stick with a non-smart phone for now.

Yes, when I was in 8th grade (last year) about half of the 225 kids in my grade had an iPhone. They were always careful with them and were cautious when I asked them to use it. Rarely did I ever see anyone break their iPhone due to carelessness.

It really depends on the 8th grader in question. If the 8th grader is mature and doesn't tend to lose things on a constant basis, then I don't see the problem in letting him have an iPhone. On the other hand, if the 8th grader tends to lose things and is generally immature about things in general, then I wouldn't risk letting him handle such an "expensive" device (and I use expensive loosely since you can get an iPhone 3GS for free or an iPhone 4 at $49 at some Walmarts and Best Buys, but at the same time an iPhone 4S can run up to $399 for the 64GB version).