Kids today have an entirely different definition of entertainment and education compared to what the previous generations grew up with. Millennials and Gen-Z are born in the digital age, and as much as Boomers and Gen X-ers try to influence them in the ways of old, there’s just no stopping the digital revolution.
You see, younger kids always on their phones fiddling away like there’s no tomorrow. You would think that all the time they spend on their phones would make their devices overheat and blow-up.
Okay. We’re just exaggerating.
But, when that happens, you can take their Androids to any Samsung phone repair center in Utah or Colorado or anywhere else in the U.S. There are plenty of credible phone repair specialists that can save your teen from going insane without their smartphones.
If you can’t beat them, at least guide them and help them make the right choices, even in managing their smartphones. While we don’t want to completely deprive them of their generation’s technology and innovation, we also still have to be vigilant with what they’re into when on their smartphones.
Here is a list of recommended apps that are great for teenagers ages 13 to 17.
15 Great Apps Suitable for Teens Ages 13 to 17
- Angry Birds Friends
Age Rating: 13+
★★★★☆
This social version of one of the most popular mobile games of its time requires Facebook.
- Codea
Age Rating: 13+
★★★★☆
Exclusively for iPad, this app allows your kids to create any visual idea, game, or simulation on the iPad.
- Evernote
Age Rating: 13+
★★★★★
Practical for taking down notes, capturing ideas, listing projects, and tasks, among other things.
- Finding Home – A Refugee’s Journey
Age Rating: 13+
★★★★★
This relevant app from the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) puts you in the shoes of a 16-year old girl seeking refuge from persecution.
- Lifeline…
Age Rating: 13+
★★★★★
This survive-against-all-odds iOS game is a modern digital version of Choose Your Own Adventure.
- Lifeline: Whiteout
Age Rating: 13+
★★★★★
An updated and more complex and challenging version of Lifeline… that is also accessible to Kindred and Android users.
- Paper by WeTransfer
Age Rating: 13+
★★★★☆
An immersive digital sketching tool designed to foster creativity.
- Popplet
Age Rating: 13+
★★★★☆
A brilliant brainstorming app designed to develop and enhance stronger organizational, writing, and memory skills.
- Pandora
Age Rating: 13+
★★★★☆
A free music and radio app that lets your teens stay updated with the latest tunes.
- Vocabulary.com
Age Rating: 13+
★★★★☆
A great app that enhances your teens’ vocabulary through play.
- Solve the Outbreak
Age Rating: 14+
★★★★☆
Step into the shoes of an epidemiologist and discover how complex solving outbreaks can be.
- Words with Friends
Age Rating: 14+
★★★★★
Scrabble gone digital. Just like its inspiration, this is best enjoyed with friends.
Age Rating: 15+
★★★★☆
A social media app that lets your teens’ post and share pics and short videos to friends.
- The Sims Free Play
Age Rating: 15+
★★★★☆
A mobile game on iOs and Android, this game lets you create your own town with endless possibilities. Your only limit is your imagination.
PicsArt Photo Editor & Collage
Age Rating: 16+
★★★★★
This image editing app lets your teen edit photos and create eyecatching collages that they can share online.
As parents, it falls to us to educate our teens about the responsible use of their devices. We don’t need to hover over them the whole time, but we shouldn’t relinquish all parental control. There should be a healthy balance between monitoring their online behavior and giving them enough freedom to explore.