How the Misuse of Smartphones Destroyed a Generation

“Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” is an essay written by Jean M. Twenge where he argues that the arrival of cellular devices has drastically affected every detail of teenagers’ entire lives, from their social contact to their mental well-being. The aim of this paper is to share my thoughts on this topic, discuss whether I agree or disagree with the author, and explain why.

In this article Twenge explains that children of today's time lack social skills and are often depressed and express the feeling of suicide. Twenge also points out the arrival of smartphones has taken away from parent and child interaction, even though they are spending a numerous amount of time under the same roof. Twenge goes on to further say that teens who spend a significant amount of time doing on screen activities are extremely likely to be miserable, and teens who spend an increased time on non-screen activities are likely to be cheerful. Also, she says that people who do not get enough sleep are susceptible to anxiety and depression, although the exact cause of this being cellphones is very hard to trace. Twenge provides additional details suggesting that the trend of decreasing social and emotional health because of cellular devices appear amongst teens that are poor and rich, no matter the ethnicity, city, or demographic background. Twenge quotes sleep experts saying “teens should get about nine hours of sleep a night; a teen who is getting less than seven hours a night is significantly sleep deprived.

I completely agree with Twenge that teens and the over usage of cellphones impacts their social life tremendously. I have seen it firsthand with my nieces, they could be in their rooms, which is right next door to one another and instead of coming to the others room, they insist on texting each other. It’s a scary thing because I have seen them attempt to have a conversation with someone whom they have just met and its socially award and a bit cringey to watch. Teens spending numerous amounts of time on their screen devices can cause a disconnect from family and friends. Getting together with friends and having a real face to face conversation is something that is no longer sufficient. Instead they rather face time each other and still text, play games, and surf the web while doing so. What happens when technology fails, and verbal communication is the only option? I'm curious if today teens today be able to carry an interesting conversation that involves back and forth communication with actual words other than acronyms and abbreviations.

Technology is a wonderful intervention but the abuse and misuse of it can potentially lead to a fatal tragedy. For teens that are social media fanatics, it could cause them their self-esteem or even their precious life. There is a remarkable amount of cyberbullying taking place on numerous social media platforms. The intervention of snapchat, in my opinion has sent cyberbullying to an all-time high. Giving teens the ability to send demeaning and hurtful messages about a person around to everyone is possible on all social media platforms but with snapchat you can choose for it to delete in the next five minutes. Apple phones have also added a way for teens to be malicious in a humiliating way. They have come up with something called “air drop”, which means that anyone who has an iphone and are in the same vicinity, with their bluetooth on can see what ever someone air drops. Such as pictures, screenshots of personal messages, and anything else that you can think of. I recall when I was sitting in the high school parking lot waiting for my niece to get out of school. Just after the school bell had ranged for them to be dismissed, I get a notification on my iphone. As I bulled it down, I could see that someone had air dropped something, I clicked to open the message and it was a picture of a teenage girl without any clothes on. A student from the high school had air dropped it right after they were dismissed, meaning that every student and parent on the campus who had an iphone with their bluetooth on got the same mortifying picture as me. Technology is marvelous tool, but teens must understand that it should not be used in a way that can make someone else feel less of a person because of mean and hateful acts.

I disagree with Twenge suggestion that teens who use cellphones on a regular basis and several hours a day no longer feel the need to take on both the pleasures and responsibilities of adulthood. In my opinion cellphones have little if any to do with this trend. They may not be as sociable because of the cellphones but not wanting to take on the roles of adulthood is more of the fact that they are lazy, and their parents have given them the option to do as they please. Children will push certain boundaries but when it comes to different aspects of life, they only do what you allow them to get away with. As a parent, if you establish early in their life that they must graduate and either go to college or take up some sort of trade, then the expectations have already been established, and no matter how much they use their phone they know what they must do.

I also disagree with Twenge that “fewer teens having sex contributed to what many see as the most positive youth trend”. I believe that seeing so many young graduates from high school going off to college is a trend that should be praised. Even if the graduate decides that college is not for them and takes up trades like welding or aquaponics, they should still be praised for doing something other than sitting at home. To see today's youth work hard in school to get into the college they want or take up trades is such a blessing and it makes me ecstatic. To say that teens not having sex is the most positive youth trend is demeaning to what us as a society expect and believe our growing youth to be able to do.

I believe that attempting to take away technology from children who have always had it is an unrealistic expectation, but restricting it is not impossible. Controlling the number of hours, a child is on screened activities can be accomplished by setting the time limits and sticking to it. Following through with what you say as a parent is always what children look for because once they see you are all talk and never mean what you say, that’s when they walk over you and do want they want. Controlling what social media platforms and websites your children interact on can and should be limited with their age as well as their mental state of mind.

The amount of time teens spend on their cellphone at night does affect the amount of sleep they are able to get, which ultimately affects their schoolwork and grades. If teens can put the phone down and go to bed at a decent time, then they would be able to enjoy the pleasures of making great grades and their cellphone. Somewhere there is a disconnect between cellphone usage and learning how to put it down and interact with others. 

In conclusion, I believe that today's teens don’t have a problem with staying on their cellphone all day because if you look at the parents, they are doing the same thing. You can't hold teens to a high expectation of decreasing cellphone usage, when you have the parents that are contributing to the problem.