Troubled Teen Turns Down An iPhone 12 His Parents Got Him For Christmas, And Now He Asks The Internet If That’s Okay

Christmas gifts are supposed to be simple, but this teen’s holiday turned into a fight over privacy, trust, and control. What started as an iPhone 12 from his parents quickly became a much bigger issue once he saw what was installed on it.

The Reddit user, who says he is non-binary and bisexual, explained that his parents gave him the phone with parental control apps already loaded. He refused the gift because it felt less like a present and more like surveillance, and that decision set off a tense family reaction.

Now the internet is weighing in, and the real problem may go far beyond one Christmas gift.

OP asks:

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This teen got an iPhone for Christmas, and even though many teens would love to receive such a gift, OP didn’t.

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That is where the gift stopped feeling like a gift.

Parents don't trust OP, so they've loaded it with all kinds of control apps. OP refused the "gift."

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Most of the young Redditors agree that it is a leash in disguise.

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Reddit had plenty to say about that part.

Some of them were a bit extreme.

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Many of us do...

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Gifts should come without strings...

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Not a gift; it is a tracking chip.

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OP listed the tracking apps installed.

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Then the details got even messier.

It’s the same boundary fight as the AITA post where someone refused to keep lending money to an irresponsible sibling.

Parents are still pushing OP.

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Some parents shared their point of view.

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Not everyone saw it the same way.

People were wondering if OP was emotionally abused.

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And maybe this was just a game of give and take.

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OP clarified some things, and it is not easy to read...

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OP is considering some extreme actions.

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One Redditor found OP’s posts in different subreddits.

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And OP seems like a really confused teen.

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By then, the conversation had gone way beyond the phone.

How can we tell if the parents are overbearing or simply worried?

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Redditor also advised OP to be brave.

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One parent explained their point of view:

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And if you look at things from that perspective...

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In a way, it is easy to understand the parents.

They are scared for their child. You can clearly distinguish comments made by a younger crowd from replies sent by people with children.

And that's it. Young people want their freedom, while their parents are sometimes scared to give it.

It is hard to judge here because there is not enough information, and teens sometimes tend to interpret their parents' attempts to keep them safe as suffocation of their freedom. A good family talk is the best thing they could do.

This family needs a real conversation, not another argument over a phone.

For more Christmas-level family pressure, see what happened when a struggling son asked parents for loan repayment flexibility.