These days technology is heavily ingrained into our society, making it impossible to go throughout one’s day without having to use a touch screen or walking past an advertisement with the words “check out our mobile app!” written at the bottom. The Internet is not just a pastime for teenagers. Nowadays even the elderly can text, and toddlers can be seen operating iphones. Of course, developments made in technology have had many positive effects, in areas such as health and communications. However, many people, particularly teenagers, abuse the endless distractions the Internet offers and the effects of it are clear.
We are the iphone generation. We rely on our phones to tell us where to go, how to get there, answer our questions, remember things for us, and teach us how to socialize. Not only is technology changing how we do things, it is beginning to dictate our lives and who we are. It is making it easier for us to say things we normally wouldn’t, but don’t hesitate to say when it’s behind a screen. How this can be negative is hard to argue when considering cases of cyber bullying and the horrors to which they have lead in recent years. Internet socialization and the mindless entertainment many websites provide make actual socialization undesirable and the outdoors seem like a relic of the past. Although I have no empirical data to support my claims, being a teenager, I can say it’s something I’ve experience firsthand. A common reply received when asking any question that involving nature is “will there be wi-fi?”
I’m not saying I’m the single teenager to avert technology or attacking those who utilize it. On the contrary, I am aware that I am part of the problem; my constantly blinking phone can justify that. But I believe being part of the problem is what helps me understand it. I can see why the Internet is so irresistible to teens, and why it’s so hard to escape. Even when we’d like to step away, homework assignments expected to be typed and researched over the computer chain us to the screen. Some find a sense of belonging on the Internet that they feel just couldn’t be satisfied by the people around them. Seeing and understanding this, we must realize how it has a potential to harm and dehumanize us, and most importantly realize that there is a line between virtual reality and actual reality, and perhaps that we need to spend more time with the latter side.