The Negative Effects OfHave Smartphones Destroyed A Generation?

    (Introduction) “Put down the phone, turn off your the laptop, and do something-anything-that doesn’t involve a screen” (Twenge 63). It is astonishing the amount of time teens spend on phones. Jean Twenge discusses the effects smartphone usage has created among the younger and past generations in the article, “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation”. The purpose of Twenge’s article is to aware readers about the many consequences the smartphone usage has impacted generations.

In her article “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, Jean M. Twinge discusses the effects on “generation i” through rising smartphone and social media usage. In the article, she provides many 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 Twinge’s article I find myself truly thinking about what smartphones have done to us as a growing generation. I have witnessed firsthand many downsides to having a smartphone that Twinge reports on.

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

“We didn’t have a choice to know any life without iPads or iPhones. I think we like our phones more than we like actual people,” (Paragraph 2). The upcoming growing generation Mrs. Twenge discovers that they are growing up with a smartphone within arm’s reach. She talks to this little girl she calls Athena and asks her if she goes to the mall with her friends alone. Athena tells her no, that when she goes to the mall with her friends its always with her mom and brothers, but they stay a little behind. She says that she had to check in every 30 minutes with her mom and let her know what they are doing. As Mrs. Twenge is talking to Athena she starts to find out how teens today communicate. She finds out that snapchat is one way they communicate and according to Athena it’s also another great way to blackmail someone to. Jean M. Twenge paints a frightening picture of how smartphones are destroying the upcoming generation.

The world has changed greatly in the last few centuries due to remarkable inventions. In the article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?,” Jean M. Twenge argues that the smartphone in particular has made a significant impact on the world, specifically in adolescents growing up at this time. Twenge’s argument that cell phones have drastically changed the way today’s adolescents think and behave is not entirely effective because she overlooks certain aspects in her claim that teenagers are physically safer than ever. She also only includes one piece of evidence that somewhat contributes to her claim that smartphones are decreasing the mental health of teenagers. Additionally, her substantial presumptions that decreased social ability results

Jean M. Twenge despises smartphones! That is the initial reaction to the title of her article “Have Smartphones Destroyed A generation?” . This will be an analysis of the effectiveness of the article written by Jean M. Twenge about the effects of smartphone usage on younger generations. With modern reliance growing more heavily on smartphones and younger generations being born with these devices around them, Twenge has gathered information pertaining to this new generational adaption that began to show signs around 2012. “Around 2012, I noticed abrupt shifts in teen behaviors and emotional states. The gentle slopes of the line graphs became steep mountains and sheer cliffs, and many of the distinctive characteristics of the Millennial

Ever since smartphones were created, they have changed teenagers’ lives entirely. The article Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? by Jean Twenge, shows the ways the invention of the smartphone has changed recent generations. The article mentions the rise in teen depression and suicide, cyberbullying, and teen safety. It also mentions the decline in our social abilities, dating, and sleep. Smartphones have had both negative and positive affects on teenagers, but the negatives significantly outweigh the positives, which points to the need to put down the smartphones, as the article suggests.

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.

Since 1975, the telephone has altered the way youth communicate with one another, and after decades of development it has ultimately led to touchscreen mobile phones which are known as ‘smart phones’. The versatility and convenience of mobile phones has revolutionised lives of all ages, surging across generations of X, Y and Z. However, despite mobile phone technology advancing to the stage where enough is never enough, constantly changing the way people live, learn, work and think. In addition, there is a massive social change between both generation X and generation Z, because of a vastly different methods in communicating via telephone, languages that are distributed, teenage behavior and relationships with others. In addition, Mrs. Nguyen part of the generation X, growing up in Vietnam, was interviewed to explore her youth and her thoughts on mobile phones.

“Put down the phone, turn off the laptop, and do something-anything-that doesn’t involve a screen” (Twenge 63). It is astonishing the amount of time teens spend on phones. Jean Twenge discusses the negative effects smartphone usage has created among the young and past generations in the article, “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation”. The purpose of Twenge’s article is to aware readers about the many issues the smartphone usage has created on generations. Twenge narrates different stories about young teen’s experiences with phones and social media. Twenge also provides readers with statistics and some studies of many effects caused by smartphones. Twenge gives emphasize to differences between generations. According to Twenge, today’s

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 order for future generations and today’s youth to be better communicators, it’s important that focus is returned to more face to face communications instead of social media and texts. If the youth continue to use social media as a means to communication future generations will be less educated and will not be prepared to enter the working world.

As a dominant factor of our society amongst teenagers of this generation, technology cause a lack of communication and social skills. Technology plays an important role in our society, but the more and more it is over-used, the less face-to-face interactions occur. Nowadays, teenagers tend to prefer a phone call or text, rather than a real-life conversations. Technological attachment is a major part of our societies reality. Due to social media and technology use by our generation, communication and social skills are making their way to becoming a more challenging aspect for us to learn. Personal interactions are becoming more obsolete as teens now prefer communication thru methods such as social media and instant messengers. The newest forms of technology can be overwhelming, with technology having the power to execute almost any command one may wish via cell phone or computer. Due to this, in person conversations and communication is fading away from our society and the meaningfulness of interaction and conversation is becoming less and less important. This rids our brains of enjoying the simple real life pleasures of conversation, and making real life connections with one another more challenging to have. This has led to the decrease of communication skills amongst people, especially young teens, in our society.

The article “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation” written by Jean M. Twenge viewed the role of technology only in the lives of teens and excluded a large amount of the population. Adults are equally affected by technology if not more so than teenagers. Technology has revolutionized our lives as we can get access to information in a matter of minutes from anywhere in the world. This access allows us to connect with people and events in different countries. We are more aware of our surroundings. Technology has made us more efficient while reducing our costs for work and production. However, we are paying a large price for temporary ease. While logging my technology usage I observed others and I realized we are too reliant on technology. While it gives people a chance to change their lives, it also destroys lives. Technology is an illusion of people progressing forwards while we have lost our values.

The first smartphones that were introduced into the mainstream market during the 21st century revolutionized the modern world. The concept of “phone” was completely rewritten, from simply being a communication device to evolving into a platform where one could document their lives, engage in productivity, access the internet, make money, entertain themselves, and become a functioning and contributing member of a larger global society by simply swiping and tapping their fingers. With the rise of smartphones came the rise of a plethora of applications, gaming services, and socially interactive technologies. These dramatic and innovative changes, while they connected people to the outside world, have paradoxically created a culture in which many preferred to be isolated, with their phones. This trend has acculturated the modern teenage demographic to the furthest extent. While it was subtle at first, the effects are now starting to be studied in depth and understood by both the scientific and the parental communities. Primarily, the increase of smartphone usage within the teenage demographic has been negatively associated with changes in the nature and frequency of real-time social interactions. To effectively address this growing issue, the future implications of smartphone usage on the social interactions of teenagers must be considered to create efficient solutions in the present. Over time, less in-person social interactions are taking place outside the home. Teenagers are