A “Smart” Epidemic

In our world today, people are living their lives like the human race never has before. Children are getting incredible education, there are countless luxuries you can add to your everyday lifestyle, new places and creatures are being discovered every day, and many epidemics are occurring throughout the human race. One of these epidemics has taken over almost the entire world’s everyday lifestyle: the smart phone. Never before has the world depended on technology as they do today. It has become a lifeline for workers, students, parents, and children. Our world has become so technologically advanced that it would be near impossible for us to perform our everyday tasks without the support of our good friend, technology. Although this new advancement is immensely beneficial, is it possible that technology could be hurting our society? The newfound teenage and young adult addiction to smart phones and social media has become a worldwide epidemic, and could be potentially hurting our future.

This generation is the first generation EVER to be so technology- dependent. Never before has the teenage and young adult society been so addicted to what is going on in the virtual world they are now so happily apart of. What we don’t know is, because this is the first generation to go through this technology advanced world, how this addiction is going to affect this world’s future, and what harms it could potentially hold.

We already know of many harms the cell-phone addiction has on our society today. For example, we have the epidemic of texting while driving and the consequences that holds. We also have a problem with students using their smart phones doing school. The learning rate among students is obviously going to drop if students are voluntarily on their cellular instead of paying attention in the classroom. Statistics show that sixty three percent of 14-16 year olds in the U.S. are producing a median of 100 texts a day, and that texting is now the preferred way of communication among teens. Melissa Ruggeri, from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, states that teen privacy is also being severely threatened by the use of smart phones. “Teens are creating digital records that shape their reputations offline. All the status updates, tweets, and check- ins to specific locations can be reviewed by prospective employers, insurance companies and colleges.” This becomes a huge problem for our generation, because this is the future working class of America, and the rest of the world. Ruggeri also mentioned that parents can set controls on their children’s phones and computers to help keep their teens out of the public eye. Kate Fogarty, assistant professor in the Department of Family, Youth, and Community Services at the University of Florida, suggests that parents negotiate rules with teens on their cell phone use. She says parents should set data limits of their child/s cell phone, and encourage their teens to get involved with face-to-face activities as alternatives to interaction in the virtual world.

Not only are children and teens severely affected by the virtual epidemic spreading around us, but adults are affected too. The working class of America, and the rest of the world, are becoming more and more technologically- dependent day by day. Nicole Saidi, of CNN, tells us that we are headed for a "Smartphone Zombie Apocalypse". People all around you are becoming addicted to their iPhone, and are learning that they very well couldn't live a normal day without it. "It seems weird to me when I'm in a doctor's office and I see ninety five percent of the people in there glued to their phones, clicking away like zombies." People are losing their social skills as they become more technologically attached. There has been observations of people at restaurants who will come in and sit at a table with a group of friends, and every single person in the group is sitting on their phones at the table, completely ignoring the people they came with. This epidemic has become so severe that people are losing their social skills: something that's very important to possess in the business society we live in today.

This epidemic is causing major issues across the globe as more and more people become part of the statistic that is being a "smartphone addict". Luckily, there are some solutions to fixing this problem, or at least how to deal with it efficiently. A major concern with this epidemic is, as the working class becomes so technologically attached, the work revenue may decrease. Statistics show that one in five employees use smartphones to browse social networking, shopping, and entertainment sites blocked off by the companies' computer system. Aaron Guerrero, from the U.S. News and World Report, gives us tips on how to resist your smartphone while on the clock at work. It's important to have a set time period for checking the device. "It's not an addiction, but an anxiety reaction that something's missing in the virtual world. It's important to give yourself a technology break.", he says. Another thing you can do is "make it invisible." Turn off all alerts on the phone and spend an hour at work without your phone, to stay more focused. You should also notify your friends and family, because they can help by not tweeting or texting you while you're at work. Last, you should still keep your appearance toward customers in mind; "use the company's computer desktop rather than your own smartphone."

As our world becomes more and more technologically advanced, this dependency on technology will only grow. Before we know it, there will be toddlers running around with iPhones and iPads because that's what they're learning with in preschool instead of a pencil and paper like we did. Being technologically advanced is definitely not a negative thing- it has endless benefits to help us with our everyday tasks. The important thing is to learn self control. As long as we make time for socializing, work, education, etc. there is nothing wrong with using technology more than we used to. The only real solution to this smartphone addiction between teens and adults is self control. We cannot end this technologically- dependent society, but we can ensure that we could live a day, or a week, without it without going crazy. The only way to do this is self control, which every person should be determined to have. Our world is only going to get more technologically advanced, and it's our generation's job to embrace it and take all the benefits technology can give us. The technology doesn't cause anything negative; it's the person's, whose hands that technology is in, decision that makes the negative effects.