The Children's Sake, Put Down That Smartphone By Patti Neighmond

My main problem that I possess when it comes to my phone dependency is how to fill my free time with efficient activities like reading, homework, or other things. When I went through school without using social media, I was much more attentive in class and I did not really miss the connection I had with my phone. I also discovered that I do not deal with the “fear of missing out” because in actuality I did not miss out on a single thing. Identifying this fact enabled me to understand that thinking I need my phone because something important could potentially arise is a complete lie that I feed to myself to give a “valid” excuse that I need to be connected to my phone at all times of the day. This challenge revealed to me how detrimental social media could become if I keep using it extensively. I have read several articles about how media are physically altering our brain in a bad way and leading to a lack of essential skills in people, mainly in the millennial generation. This made me question if new media has contributed to the rise of social anxiety in individuals or aided the downfall of literacy in America today. This project has truly opened my eyes with my personal media use and the potential risks that can spawn from abusing

“Technology should improve your life...not become your life”is a quote from Billy Cox that talks about how technology is being used too much.An app is being developed to help people control their time on social media.This app would be a good tool for people who want to reduce their time on their devices.Some reasons why this is helpful is many people become addicted to technology,some people neglect their families and friends when they’re on their phones,and people can miss out on life if they are trying to record it.

In Susan Campbelle article, she tells her audience that today children who have access to cellphones are using it for inappropriate use. She argues that children believes that “Cellphones are the most important thing in the world” (1) She then tells us a story of a ten year old boy and how his parents deal with his addiction of cellphones usage. The article works primarily around the kids and parents that the author interviews and quotes that, “Children are using their cellphones inappropriate nowadays. I will use this essay in order to contextualize my argument about why cellphones

The article states, “Fifty percent of teens feel they are addicted to their mobile devices...A larger number of parents, 59% said their teens were addicted. The poll involved 1,240 interviews with parents and their children, ages 12 to 18.” Wallace and other parents interviewed for the story, are convinced that teens are practically attached to their phones, even the teenagers admit this statement it true.

Fallows appears to have written this editorial based on her examination of a change that has a occurred in our society, and a wonder of how this change affects the people, specifically the children, involved. In the year 2013, when this editorial was written, according to the PewResearch Center, cell phone usage among adults was at 91% up from 65% in 2004. In the same year, other articles emerged about the negative affects of cell phone usage among adults when around children. One article, published in The Guardian, stated that “parents should stop checking their mobiles and listen to their children when they are talking to them.” Fallows opens her editorial with an observation she has when walking through her neighborhood with her grandson. She notices that the adults she sees are not talking with their children but talking on the phone or texting.

They’re selling your attention span.” (Are You Addicted to Your Phone?) Instead of reading books and finding hobbies, youth today are absorbed in social media. We are so addicted to it, we created a new phobia, the fear and anxiety of being without a phone. These mindless distractions turn us away from what’s happening in the world.

The availability of technology intensifies each year, and has become the main source of entertainment for people worldwide. As it becomes more available, more people use it in their everyday lives. Teens on average spend 9 hours a day on social media. That is more time than most spend asleep every night. This is a perfect example of how much time we waste on that single form of “entertainment”.

In the article, “OMG Teens and Their Phones” by Bob Ross, he discusses a survey that shows on average everyday teens send about one text message every five minutes. Throughout this article Ross discusses the question of whether the use of technology is being abused by kids today and the answer is yes, but only if the parents let it happen. Parents cannot be ignorant about what their child is using technology for, they need to understand the technology their child is using and they also need to create rules about the use of technology so teens do not abuse their power of it. Ross explains how it is important for parents to set guidelines and rules that are reasonable for themselves and their child’s needs so they are more willing to follow them. To make sure that teens are not abusing their technology it is important for parents to encourage technology free time. It is important for a child to learn when the appropriate time is to use technology and when they should not, for example when they are in class or when they are doing homework. Another suggestion that Ross makes is for parents to check phone bills to make sure that their child is following their guidelines. On the phone bill a parent can see what times their child is texting and the other person who they are texting. If a parent sees that their child is not following their guidelines then they can always disable their phone during a certain

Study’s made by AVG shows that fifty four percent of children think their parents check their smartphones too often and thirty two percent of children ‘feel unimportant’ when their parents are on their smartphones. The constant use of the smartphone is a bad model of parenting, but it does not mean that parents have to stop using smartphones because parents can give hundred percent attention to their children without giving hundred percent of their time. In fact, it is healthy for children and they will not see the smartphone as more important than

In the article “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?,” Twenge discusses the negative effects of smartphones and social media on today’s teenagers. She delves into a case study citing examples from a girl she refers to as Athena, who gives Twenge insight into this generation of teens. Twenge suggests that smartphones have become the main cause of increased depression and suicide rates for teenagers. Ever since 2012, with a majority of Americans owning smartphones has led to both the levels of happiness and independence to decrease.

Imagine the world without cellular devices. Would it prevent car accidents or maybe prevent eye problems in young individuals? Regardless of the answer, cell phones are an ever expanding industry. Journalist Lauryn Chamberlain states that rates of cell phone ownership of the ages of 13 and older that are American has increased 15% in the last ten years, increased to 85%. This statistic causes one to contemplate one simple question, why? Ten years ago, cell phones typically had two main functions, calling and texting. However, since then a multitude of new applications have been created to advance the user’s experience socially. Some of these applications include Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest, and Blogger, which advance experience by making interactions with people on a global scale. Despite this, these social platforms can have disadvantages. Psychologist Larry Rosen uses his image “Weapons of Mass Distraction” to show

The most genuine complication of social media is addiction. A reporter on Salem health characterized that text messaging is no longer the biggest teenage obsession, and enormous phone bills from lengthy phone calls are no longer the biggest doubts for parents. These teenage addictions still remain, but in our generation and in analogy to the Facebook mania, it’s quite insignificant. Facebook addiction is advised to be a disorder driven by a craving. Not being able to access Facebook creates anxiety among fanatics. It is one of the most prominent social networking sites and has over one billion users without exception. People detach themselves from family and friends. Further symptoms of Facebook addiction have been related with needy sleep patterns. Researchers have also attempted to evaluate certain personality traits to the obsession. Being in touch with friends and family might clarify the logic why people are unreasonably obsessed.

In today’s society almost every individual has some type of social media, whether it is Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, or Twitter, People have accustomed to utilizing these types of social media and it has become part of their life and daily use. According to the essay “Students Addicted to Social Media” by the International Center for Media and Public Agenda, the study from the University of Maryland claims “American college students today are addicted to media” (Signs of Life in the USA 403). The university discovered that when these students are restricted from using media it is similar in terms of drug and alcohol addictions. During the study that the university conducted, students discuss how boring it is without media and how it gives them anxiety about not receiving information through social media. Other students claimed that texting and IM'ing gives them comfort and if they do not have these items then they feel alone and isolated from the world ( Signs of Life in the USA 404). Students are not the only ones who have an addiction of media but also parents and non-students. However, the International Center is accurate in some aspects and the responses students gave are very relatable which some people can agree with.

Studies have shown that the average person now spends more time each day on their phone and computer than they do sleeping according to Nick McGillivray (“What are the Effects of Social Media on Youth?). Social has become part of our social society, especially for the many youths. There are positives to being on social media and also equal amounts of danger that come with using social networking sites, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. These social networking sites also have effects on today’s youth by altering the way they behave, the way they learn, in not only a classroom setting but also in the real world setting, and the way that they socialize with their peers and others.

Everyday human social interactions are suffering due to the part smartphones play. Furthermore, being connected through this technology is something that is bragged upon, but users are not as connected as they would like to think. Unfortunately this constant communication gives a false sense of connection, because when they are face to face there is little interaction. Turkle states that communication between family members when “Parents text and do email...while children complain about not having their parents full attention” ( 3.) Parents are no longer paying attention to what their child is doing whether it be a baseball game or dance competition they are overwhelmed with demands on their time. Walsh et al. says that the behavioral reaction is a need to “compulsively check their device[s] for any messages or updates” (qtd. In Hardwood et al. 268). It is not just parents that have this problem. All of society is too busy looking at their smartphone to notice what is going on around them.