Jean M. Twenge's Article Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation

In “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” written by, the Psychology Doctor, Jean M. Twenge, she presents the results produced after twenty-five years of research (Twenge para3). Her research was carried out to understand the new generation and explain how it differs to the previous generations (Twenge para9). Although her style is indeed formal, she utilized a heavy amount of credentials, logos, emotional appeal and a factual tone, to enforces her appeal on the parents of the kids of this new generation. Furthermore, she underlays her stand on the topic throughout her analysis, rather than having a direct approach and states actual percentages to compare previous generations to the new one, which leads to a sense of validity. It is not until the very end, that she finally states her stand in a more direct sense, since she has now gained the trust of her audience.

In the article, Twenge talks about how spending the majority of you time on your phone, alone, rather than hanging out with people, you become more depressed. The amount of time teens have been doing screen activities like social media on your phone, vs non screen activities like hanging out with friends have gone up in recent years. Teens that participate in more non screen activities have shown to be generally more happy and less depressed than those who spend more time doing screen activities. Teens feeling lonely spiked in 2013 saying they feel they had been left out of things and wish they had better friends. I think that because of social media you often feel left out of activities that your friends are doing without you making you feel like they are bad friends and overall making you more depressed. “For all their power to link kids day and night, social media also exacerbate the age-old teen concern about being left out.”

Technology is becoming to be a large part of society and has a growing impact on our personal lives. Jean Twenge uses this reasoning to effectively discuss the mental issues arising in “iGen” and how social media, sleep deprivation, and usage of technology are negatively affecting teenagers of this generation. This is an important topic to discuss because in 2011, statistics showed that the teen suicide rate was higher than the teen homicide rate for the first time in 24 years (Twenge). Twenge uses facts like this to appeal to parents to try to make them recognize that their own kids could be in danger of depression and hurting themselves and what could be large contributors. Twenge backs up her argument by using her background as a professor at San Diego University and her studies of generational differences to support her claim. Although Jean Twenge tries to use her power to make parents embrace their parental

Today, kids are safer physically than they are mentally. In this generation, kids of all ages are extremely dependent on their electronic devices. Kids from different communities, social classes, and backgrounds all have access to online resources. In the article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation,” author Jean M. Twenge discusses the negative effects cell phones have on young kids and teenagers. She accurately claims how kids are negatively affected by cell phones through their poor social skills, dependency, and poor mental health.

In American author and psychologist, Jean Twenge’s article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” Twenge argues that smartphones have seriously taken a toll on Millennials. She claims that smartphones are wreaking havoc on Millennials’ mental health, as this generation is apparently “safer than ever” physically, they are “seriously unhappy” with life in general (Twenge 4). According to Twenge, children who see their friends on social media more than they do face-to-face feel lonely and excluded. I feel that with a majority of my generation, this is accurate to an extent. Many fights and arguments between younger people stem from Instagram and Snapchat posts. For example, innovations like the SnapMap now allow people to view their friends’ locations. Various viral memes, a humorous image, video, etc. copied and spread rapidly throughout the Internet,

Mental Time bomb In her 2017 article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation,” Jean Twenge argues that one of the main causes of our generations unhealthy habits is linked with our addiction to smartphones. Jean takes a unique perspective when analyzing how people in our generation interact with each other, as well as how we view ourselves individually. Although there is good evidence that smartphones affect social interactions, I believe that the over usage of social media on smartphones is having greater effects on people’s mental health and well-being.

In the September 2017 issue of The Atlantic, Jean M. Twenge factually accounts for the brisk changes in “Generation Z’s” ways of living as compared to generations before. The article, entitled Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation, propels valid evidence justifying that the release of smartphones and tablets has procured an entire generation to develop unfamiliar habits. An iPhone or Android in the hands of a child who has yet to reach the middle school level is becoming increasingly common. Twenge explains how Generation Z, or ‘iGen,’ grew up with technology and has not known about a time before the internet. With this upbringing, there have been evident “shifts in teen behaviors and emotional states,” as found through years and series of national surveys. Emerging from these changes, they are physically safer; however, tend to have higher rates of suicidal thoughts or poor mental health. Also concerning to those raising the generation, teens are less likely to strive for their own individual freedoms, such as obtaining a driver’s license, going out with friends, and finding a job. In this article, Twenge elaborates on both the benefits and disadvantages of the newest generation growing up with various technologies at their fingertips.

In the article “Have Smart Phones Destroyed a Generation?” Jean M. Twenge discusses that smartphones are highly affecting iGen — the name Twenge call the generation after millennials, highly than the past generations. Smartphone has the tendency of impacting teens lives in this world and in their daily life. Jean M. Twenge explains that the invention of smartphones has radically changed every characteristic of teens lives. Spending more time on screen dramatically impacts or change the behavior of teens in which it significantly affects their health.

Many times our fears of what is unknown to us are often the strongest fears we hold as human beings. However, what if it was the fear of things we already know that were the most powerful and influential in our lives? In modern society, many hold within themselves a deep-seated fear of the technology that the world has become so revolved around. Additionally, it has recently become debatable whether or not this technology has become a hindrance to members of the so-called iGeneration, born between 1995 and 2012, who have grown up in a world surrounded by technology. Truly, the members of older generations, including millennials who have had themselves split off from the apparent technology obsessed generation of the youngest millennials, have expressed their concern as to whether or not these vast differences in generations have to do with the unhealthy use of technology. Among those to have analyzed this phenomenon is writer Jean M. Twenge who in her article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?,” utilizes the study of a modern 13 year old girl named Athena to exemplify a plethora of determinants that technology has imposed on young people and the slow deterioration of everything from independence and social skills to a decline mental health due to technology use. Many of Twenge’s statements reveal the belief that many members of iGen are unequipped to handle adulthood and are even less happy because of the technology that has played a significant role in their lives

    (summary) In the article “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?”, Jean M. Twenge discusses the effects smartphones have created on younger generations. Twenge is a psychologist who has been researching the differences in generations for 25 years. In accordance to Twenge, smartphones have significantly increased the rates in teen depression and suicide. Twenge describes the generation iGen (born between 1995 and 2012) as being on the verge of the worst mental-health crisis in decades. Twenge’s research shows statistics on many factors that are affected by social media, smartphones, and the internet. For example, the number of teens feeling lonely or depressed has increased significantly since 2011. The number of teens that do activities outside of home is another example. According to Twenge, the number of teens that go out with their

In her article “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, Jean M. Twenge discusses the effects on “generation i” with rising smartphone and social media usage. In the article, she provides multiple statistics to support her claims on what’s happening with the “i generation”, and generations past through social media use. She concludes that while smartphones have some positive social impact on the generation (like lower teen pregnancy rates), there has been real damage to the generation as well. I have concluded that, our generation has been more negatively impacted through smartphone usage than positively impacted. This is a strong point to make but, through my own experiences and, after reading Twenge’s article I find myself thinking about what smartphones have done to us as a growing generation. I have witnessed firsthand numerous downsides to having a smartphone that Twenge reports on.

Twenge stated, “If you were going to give advice for a happy adolescence based on this survey, it would be straightforward: Put down the phone, turn off the laptop, and do something--anything--that does not involve a screen”. Twenge follows up her opinionated advice with a qualifier saying, “Of course, these analyses don’t unequivocally prove that screen time causes unhappiness: it’s possible that unhappy teens spend more time online. But recent research suggests that screen time, in particular social-media use, does indeed cause unhappiness” (Paragraph 28). This qualifier supported her claim where her advice is more reasonable and worth paying attention to than to immediately shut out her ideas. Qualifiers are in arguments to make the statements less extreme and not too intense for the readers to be offended.

According to Twenge, the number of teens that go out with their friends has decreased by 40 percent compared to earlier generations. Twenge compares iGens to different generations such as Gen X (born between 1965 and early 1984), baby boomers (1946-1964) and Millennials (born around 1982-2002). Twenge emphasizes on the time teenagers spend on their phones. Social media plays a huge role in this. In accordance to Twenge, different forms of social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are what teenagers spend more time on. According to Twenge, the more time teens spend on smartphones the greater they are at risk for suicide, depression, and loneliness. Twenge also explains how teens are not receiving an adequate amount of sleep, many teens now sleep less than seven hours. Twenge concludes the article by sharing her own experience with her children and technology, she recommends parents to limit the time their children spend on phones. (59-65)

Besides the cell phone, does technology really affect us in our society? Today’s generation of teenagers are using smartphones much of the time. Researchers also found that many teenagers are using more smartphones. This constant use of technology has had negative effects on today’s youth. Constant use of technology by teenagers is harmful because it causes depression and affects education

“Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” by Jean M. Twenge on The Atlantic in September 2017 are changing people generation by generation. Twenge's thesis is that smartphones are changing the way teens act. Twenge is comparing baby boomers when they were teens to teens now. Teens now are shaped by phones. Smartphones are affecting teens by changing their personality and the way they look at themselves. She is stating that because of smartphones, teens are becoming disconnected from the outside world. In addition, smartphones are making teens less social and less independent. Also, another effect with smartphones is that they are making teens depressed and suicidal. In 2012, 50% of people had smartphones after 2012, is when suicidal and depression rate kept rising. The only good things Twenge states about smartphones, is that teens are more safe now. If there is an emergency, they can immediately contact someone. Furthermore, teens now have more individualism than millennials did. Twenge interviews a “13-year-old” girl and pulls her audience in by telling the girls story with phones. Twenge pulls back to the question, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”. Teens today do not see the bad affects a smartphone has on them. They are too attached to their phones and also blinded to see it from another person's perspective.