We spend our lives in front of screens, wasting away: checking Twitter, watching Vines, texting, and shopping. Every short survey after a standardized test asks “If offered, would you take the ____ online?” I always decline, because a cursor in the screen will never be free as a pencil on paper, but also because staring at a screen for hours sounds exhausting. The world has changed drastically since the first computer was designed; today, life revolves around speed and everything shiny new. Because of technology, we have eCards, email, and artificial limbs. However, because of technology, we also unfortunately have child pornography, cyber-bullying, and tragic accidents over texting and driving. Texting and driving, especially—this issue has multiplied since the …show more content…
There is an undeniable compulsion to pick up the phone at a traffic light and check for texts (the extra risky ones even check their phone while driving). Today, it is automatic. Certainly, concepts like “phantom texts” and “phantom vibration syndrome” have stemmed because of cell phone proliferation; trills and ringtones can interrupt hearty family reunions meant for bonding, siphon attention like a siren song, and last but not least, kill. And yet, despite knowing the exact dangers of texting and driving, many people—including teenagers—still do it. I am not innocent, either, which is the precise reason why eradicating distracted driving must be approached from another angle. Evidently, recent enforcements and advertisements have focused on statistics which, on the surface, are fine. Billboards, bumper stickers, and phone companies have all encouraged safe driving. Yet, they fail to acknowledge the superiority and invincibility complex dormant within most teenagers and humans. Never would one imagine that in the next two seconds, he or she will crash into another car and kill the driver. Never would one imagine that at any given moment, he or she can become distracted