My 17-year old daughters just got smart phones for Christmas. Neither one wanted one - but their flip-phones were falling apart.
We got a decent android that was still on the small side as the girls are used to smaller phones to slip into their pockets. The salesman was surprised they still had flip-phones, and agreed that anything was a step up. He commented “I’ve had 10-year old kids come in here crying because they didn’t get the iPhone6 in the color they wanted. Heck - I’ve had ADULTS in tears because we had to order out for the color they wanted.”
It was funny - they weren’t real happy when they saw the phones for Christmas. (”Can we return them and just get the regular phones?”) They like them now though. Got them both 64 GB SanDisc expansion memory for $16 each on Ebay too!
Both of my daughters (one teenager, one adult) have asked for flip phones because of all the hacking that has been happening to “Smart” phones. They decided they do not need or want the possible “unwanted” exploitation of anything they decide to take a picture of.