Smartphones Ruined A Generation: Article Analysis

Hanging out with friends now almost feels nostalgic. With increased free time due to school ending, I find myself hanging out with friends more these few weeks than I have all year. With most of my entertainment coming from my phone, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed filling my time with physical activities. In fact, memories from before switching from a flip phone to a Smartphone in middle school feel like a separate half of my life. So of course, I understand why older generations would say Smartphones are ruining this generation’s social life. When I’m on my phone for long periods it can sometimes kill my motivation to go out with my friends. But I also can’t forget that it is also the piece of technology that helps me stay connected with

Smartphones eliminate the need for other technology such as an alarm clock, Walkman, TV, camera, news source, and calendar because it is all built in. In her article, “Have Smartphones Ruined a Generation?”, Twenge relates smartphones to addiction explaining that the convenience of the smartphone ensures that people keep their phones close to them at all times which makes it easy for them to give into the temptation of looking at their phones. “Nearly all slept with their phone, putting it under their pillow, on the mattress, or at the very least within arm’s reach of the bed… Some used the language of addiction. “I know I shouldn’t, but I just can’t help it,”’ However even if you resist the many functions of a Smartphone, getting by in society is harder without an owning one as social media has become tightly intertwined in society. It’s undeniable that Social media has revolutionized communication. Its main appeal is that it can efficiently distribute information among people all over the world. Support for causes is stronger than ever because people are able to share proof of their

Many “Professional Instagrammers” create an illusion of living an extravagant lifestyle by posting only beautiful scenery, foods, and people. I believe social media is a feedback loop system where people see manicured versions of other peoples’ lives which causes them to feel insecure about their lives and omit any mundane parts of their lives when sharing online. Twenge states in her article that “…those who spend six to nine hours a week on social media are still 47 percent more likely to say they are unhappy than those who use social media even less.” I believe that eventually, this constant obsession with comparing oneself to others has both strengthened this generation’s narcissism and insecurities. This obsession with maintaining one’s digital identity has caused people to stop caring as much about their real-life interactions. In Twenge’s article, the interviewee that Twenge uses to back up her claims talks of her clash with technology when a friend was texting when she was talking.’ “I’m trying to talk to them about something, and they don’t actually look at my face,” she said. “They’re looking at their phone, or they’re looking at their Apple Watch.”’ I’ve had many similar experiences of going to lunch with my friends after class only to find that I had no one to talk to because everyone was glued to their phones, texting