Ask Lemmy

On timing, I'd say that unless you plan to live in wilderness somewhere and limit connectivity options, that it's going to happen pretty quickly regardless of your position. Even if you don't provide access to the Internet, once kids start going to school, I expect that they'll make friends, and at least some of those friends are going to have Internet access, probably in a mobile form.

And phone-based WiFi hotspots and Bluetooth tethering means that if someone's friends have some sort of cell service with unlimited data, as long as they're around them, they can share an Internet access link, so can use their own WiFi-capable device, don't need to share devices. I expect that used WiFi-capable devices are not going to be hard to come by, though I guess that a parent could try to forbid their kids to have one.

And once a kid's location isn't restricted to being around their parents all the time, for anyone in an urban setting, there are going to be foot-accessible places that provide WiFi access

like, everyone at school knows the local Starbucks password or whatever.

EDIT: On consideration, I don't think that Starbucks actually passwords their WiFi service, but even for restaurants or shops or whatever that do and have guest WiFi, not a super high bar.