To each their own, though I feel obligated to defend myself a bit.
This ofcorse is IMHO and what ive actually experienced.
No need to defend yourself, as you say to each their own and all that.
I will say though that most of the kids I see don't have expensive plans - they usually have basic ones or even no service at all (those phones can still make emergency calls and can be used with wi-fi or offline for games or calculator and translation apps). I'm sure some parents are paying for extensive coverage of course, but that's a choice, not a necessity that goes along with having the phone.
And sure, before cell phones you could use a landline, but the calls were expensive, and if there's a language barrier it's that much harder to communicate. I grew up having cousins (and aunts/uncles/grandparents) who I saw maybe once every couple of years, and didn't communicate with otherwise because it would have been expensive and complicated to work out. But now my nieces and nephews can keep in touch with me, and with their other aunts/uncles/cousins/grandparents all over the world using smartphones and tablets that let them chat by photo or video for free as long as they're connected to wi-fi.
I'm in awe of the way that makes the world so much more connected for them. And that's what I think is brilliant.