The Negative Effects OfHave 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.

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.

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

    (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. 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.

“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 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.

“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.

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.

“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.

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.

In today’s modern society, people — particularly young people — are discovering and adapting new approaches of communicating electronically to fit their needs continually. For the most part, conversations are predominantly dominated by social media interactions. You are probably more likely to speak to family and friends through electronic devices rather than face-to-face. But is modern technology and social media impairing our interpersonal communication and social skills? Recent research and studies suggest demonstrate that social media negatively impacts social and communication skills. However there are ways to combat these detrimental effects.

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

With social media being available at our fingertips, young adult’s reliance on the internet has developed into an addiction, negatively affecting their relationships. In “Is Technology Making People Less Sociable?” Larry Rosen conducted a study with 1,110 teenagers and adults which researchers “monitored anxiety levels of smartphone users when we wouldn’t let them use their phones, and found that the heavy smartphone users showed increased anxiety after only 10 minutes and that anxiety continued to increase across the hour-long study” (Rosen). Larry Rosen’s experiment exemplifies teenager’s addiction to social media and their inability to function without it. Since the younger generation spends most of their free time in a virtual world, they are not experiencing genuine socialization. Furthermore, today’s youth, “spend so much time maintaining superficial connections online that we aren’t dedicating enough time or effort to cultivating deeper real-life relationships” (Hampton). The time spent on social media makes teenagers less aware and respondent to their relationships in real life. The younger generation is missing out on building and developing their real-life relationships with their family and friends. In “The Impact of Digital Communications Technologies on Youth Relationships and Sociability”, Sarah Long reveals that “the decrease in the amount of time youth spend interacting face-to-face may have significant consequences for their development of social skills and their presentation of self”(12). The lack of physical interaction has taken a toll on youth’s ability to develop

What happened to the good old days when kids would be outside playing with each other, rather than being inside burying themselves in technology? It is scary how much technology people use on a daily basis. People are buried in their phone’s using Facebook, Instagram and other types of social media. This generation has become one where technology has almost completely taken over the way everyone communicates. The worst part of technology has changed many individuals’ lives from children using it at a young age, teenagers and adults using their electronic device while operating a moving vehicle, and electronic devices affecting relationships.