Smartphones Destroyed A Generation: Article Analysis

Can you name a friend or family member that does not have a smart phone or computer? If so, they are likely much older and have not partaken in the mass technology boom of the twenty-first century. In recent years, technology has been engraved in America’s culture where the younger generation has been born and bred around media devices. Due to the advancement of technology, computer literacy is important now, more than ever. “Sixty percent of American homes with children ages eight to seventeen have computers and most of these computers connected to the Internet” (Wartella 32). Computer technology has ushered in a new digital era bringing with it the ability to reach everyone’s hand’s young or elder. This will bring change to the future, including job stability and child development. Early exposure to digital media devices will give children competitive advantages in the educational system and the future job market.

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,

In September 2017, Jean M. Twenge articulates the development of generation “iGen” in the article “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”. The emphasis Twenge provides in the article directs to post-Millennials and how they are generally safer and cleaner than past generations have been. Twenge provides various enlightening details about generational problems and how they need improvement. Generation “iGen” is dependent of technology and uses it often compared to past generations. This generation has become powered by their smartphones; it has changed the way several people live today and has brought many individuals to a point of mental illness.

The newest generation has been an energetic force behind the social media movement. Generation Z, commonly referred to as the iGen, is the first generation to come of age with modern conveniences such as internet, cell phones, and digital cable television and because of this, it is seemingly in their DNA. Compared to other generations the Generation Zers have a much more positive outlook on the effects of technology; a possible result of their familiarity and facility with the newest technology. It is commonly said by this generation, that the technology which allows one to stay connected with friends and family is painless and uncomplicated and technology makes one’s life seem easier. Generation Z rarely has to get out of bed with the desired information so easily accessible on their tech devices. This may be a reason it seems they are always on their smartphones. Technology, of this new age, has created an anticipative attitude within the work environment with the expectation of their devices to be as up to date as the their personal lives. As a result of the need for immediate updates, this young generation has earned a label of

The book has two core arguments to make, one about each generation. Digital Natives, the

Growing up in the 90s, my family mainly shaped my cultural life until technological advances, such as the personal computer and colored television arrived. My family purchased a colored TV, and as a child, all I wanted to do was watch cartoons. Early on, my mother would limit the time my brother and I spent in front of the TV, and I never understood the logic behind it until recently. Similar to my family, mass media has altered how we communicate. In fact, there is an over abundance of media in present day life. For example, many households have embraced and welcomed personal computers, Ipad’s, and TV sets into their living rooms. In the American society, an average American spends about 1,600 hours a year watching television (“Characteristics of Culture 51”). As per the U.S. Census conducted last year, for many Americans, access to computers and high-speed Internet connections has never been more important. We use computers and the Internet to complete schoolwork, locate jobs, watch movies, access healthcare information, and find relationships, to name but a few of the ways that we have grown to rely on digital technologies (“Computer and Internet 2013”). In the past, families would read the newspaper or talk to a neighbor to find out about current events and information.

“Poor Generation Z. The oldest members of this cohort are barely 18 and they’re already getting a bad rap. Media and market research companies have labeled them “screen addicts” with the attention span of a gnat” (Finch 2015). Personally, I think that my generation, also known as Generation Z, is different from the past generations. Just growing up I have seen drastic changes in technology and social media. Do these changes make my generation standout from the others? Has these changes affected my generation in a good or bad way? We all know how the older generations would answer that question, then they would ramble on and on about how whenever they needed some information they must research it the “old fashion way” and could not look it up by just pulling their smart phones out of their pockets. Are they right? Do we spend too much time in our lives focusing on the technology around us? Is my generation too disconnected from the real world? If we are it is only going to get worse for future generations.

Have you ever seen how our generation is basically glued to their phones? This example has caused many things to occur in this generation primarily the rates of being alone has drastically increased however just looking at the negative effects can give a bias to the studies done.

In “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation” published by The Atlantic, professor of psychology, Jean M. Twenge, states that the generation called iGens is drastically different than any other generation for the rise of depression and sleep deprivation, which all links up to their use of smartphones. In the beginning Twenge made a phone call to a girl in Texas, asking what her favorite things to do were for iGens research. The thirteen-year-old girl stated that she spends most of her time chatting with her friends or on social media. Twenge has been researching generation differences for twenty-five years. Twenge states that every generation is different, but the difference between iGens and Millennials is

In her article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, Twenge argues how technology has affected the teens today, since they are going out less and becoming adults later in life, but also unhappiness is linked to how much how much screen time you use and how depression and

Today’s youth is commonly referred to as the digital generation, and clearly for good reason. I mean, have you seen the kids these days, practically glued to their iPhones? It’s true that as a society, we’re all pretty reliant on our devices nowadays, and it’s hard to make it through the day if you’re not contactable and connected to wifi at all times. But that certainly doesn’t mean giving us the technology you never had in your youth is a bad thing. Social media, devices and the internet have advantaged our lives in so many different ways. They’ve made connecting with people, opportunities and content incredibly easy, and they help every individual understand the world with more clarity and breadth than anyone could have even thought possible fifty years ago. So there’s really no pride in pulling the “when I was your age, we didn’t have *insert tech item here*!” speech, moaning about how you had to do everything the hard

People are now on their phones more, whether when they should be doing something productive or their free time, than they had in the past. Teens are the ones that people tend to think are always on their phones, when in reality adults, also, play on their phone when they get off work. “According to Nielsen's Total Audience Report, Americans aged 18 and older spend more than 11 hours a day watching TV, listening to the radio or using smartphones and other electronic devices” (Richter). Although adults spend time on their phone, they are usually using it to communicate or be productive, where children now play games on many different types of mobile, technological devices, such as iPods, iPhones, et cetera. Today, they play with an iPod instead of with their imagination, or they play Subway Surfers, a game where an avatar in the game runs away from a security guard on train tracks avoiding trains trying to gather coins, instead of playing tag. Children growing up, also, tend to pass up opportunities to play outside with their friends to watch shows on Netflix or TV. Since people spend more time alone, they are not conversing as much making them more alone.

In this day and age, advanced innovation changes so quickly and incorporates into our general public at such a quickened rate, it is difficult to stay aware of it, not to mention consider the impacts it has on our lives. In spite of the fact that Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter did not exist a simple decade prior, they are presently pervasive types of media and correspondence in our way of life. Today 's era of young people, conceived in the 1990s, apropos named the "iGeneration", are the most associated era ever. These iGen high schoolers are advanced locals experiencing childhood in a period of a gigantic deluge of innovation. They don 't know of the world that does exclude the Web and simple access to innovation. Guardians of iGen youth, nonetheless, are "digital immigrants" [1].

dynamics. Most of us do not need the results of a nationwide report to recognize that media have

Though many generations feel that the developments of social media has caused a sort of “digital divide,” many argue that media itself has caused this misconception through images that, “pokes fun at parents and grandparents trying to understand the means of Twitter and Facebook as young children sit playing games on their iPad (Warrington).” Warrington, with The Collegian, argues that though there may be a slight divide between generations, this can only be expected with such advances in our access to media, and the younger generation is always the first to adapt to new media. For instance, in the 1940’s and 50’s, many radio programs, such as The Lone Ranger and Tom Mix, were marketed towards the “Silent Generation,” who had adapted to this technology much easier than their parents and grandparents (OTRCAT.com).