Teens and Smartphones, Article Revie Essay Sample

The teens of this generation rarely date. The first stage in their courtship is 'liking' which is a text sent, unlike the actual conversation (Twenge, 2017). This generation spends time on their phones and does not even work to earn independence from their parents, and thus adulthood responsibilities are not an iGen innovation. The iGen teens spend much time under the same roof with their siblings and parents, but they are hardly closer to their parents and other family members. Even when someone tells something important to them they pay no attention, and the only response is 'okay, okay, whatever' as they are on their smartphones. The teens' depression cases are on the rise because they do not have time to share their problems with people who can help them but only spend time looking at the screens.

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Relation between the Article and Personal Experiences

Personally, I am a victim of how the smartphones have damaged the life of this generation. I cannot attend to anything without my phone near me. I prefer staying alone in my room than joining my family when they are holding actual chats in the house. If I decide to join them for shopping, I am always left behind while on the phone. When it is time to eat, I place my smartphone where I can reach it and see new messages. My parents have talked to me severally about this, but I don't see it as helpful because I don't think there is something wrong with me. I can tweet from anywhere, in class, or in the bathroom. I rarely meet with my friends face to face but through online chats. The information from the article relates to my personal experiences because Anthem herself reported having no time for her family but had all the time for her smartphone. The trips to the mall as per the article are minimal for the teens, and this is not different from my case. It is evident from the article that teens lock themselves in their rooms and this applies to me.

I have to some point experienced stress. When I spend much of my time looking at the screen, I have no time for social interactions with my family. My parents try to approach me, but I turn them off. All I can spare time for is my phone. To some point, I have problems, but I can't find time to vent them to my parents, and I assume that they are not there for me thus stress hits me. In the real sense, I am the problem because I don't make them part of my life. I also had an online dating relationship with someone I even did not know. It started when I posted a photo I had taken while at school. The person liked it and that where it all began. The author of the article states that teens have no time to date as it used to be but online dating is what is happening and starts with a like (Twenge, 2017).

Main Points of the Article and Three Concepts from Class Lectures

The smartphones are damaging the social interactions, cause mental illnesses, and psychological problems. The current generation spends its time on social networks because the can no longer tolerate boredom. The smartphones create a virtual connection with friends, and therefore the teens find is meaningless to drive to places to meet the friends. The teens are interacting with the screens for more than 3 hours a day thus have a more significant part of their time and have no room for their family and friends, and therefore loneliness is part of their life thus likely to kill one another or themselves. From the article, the author states that the sites for social networking such as the Facebook promise to connect the teens with friends, but instead the iGen is a lonely and dislocated generation. The screen interactions do not fulfill the teens' need for in-person interactions. In this case the IGen teens falls victims of online cyberbullying where by the girls case they bully one is based on her social status and relationship issues while for male revolves along physical bullying.

Mental illness is also a problem of today's teens. The teens do not have an adequate sleep less than 7 hours per night because they are always on their smartphones and this causes depression. For the Eighth graders teens who spends more time on social media 27% are at risk having depression and unhappy than those who went to religious gathering group completed their assignment in time and are happy. In the article the author supports this because most of the teens sleep late in the night while using their smartphones, they also place them within an arm's reach, maybe under the pillow or mattress. The vibrations of the phones when a notification arrives cannot give the teens a sound slumber, and this is why they suffer sleep disorders, depression, and other mental problems. The first and the last thing the teens are in touch with when they wake up in the morning and sleep is a smartphone which makes them highly vulnerable to mental illnesses. The use of the phones affects the mental well-being of the young people because, for example, the online photo-sharing apps deepen the teens' feelings of inadequacy which amplifies anxiety.

Psychological distress is another characteristic of the teens of this generation. The smartphones connect the young generation day and night and exacerbate their worry about being left out. The teens attend fewer parties, rarely date, and do not have time to seek employment. Even when they assemble, teens rarely talk to each verbally but can snap chat, Facebook and sign in to Instagram. In the article, the author states that the teens have increased loneliness and increased feelings of being left out so have to spend time on their phones. Teens have developed an obsession with their phones. The author reports that some teens said that they were addicts of using phones, "I know I shouldn't, but I just can't help it," and others saw the smartphones as "an extension of their life" and comfort when the phone is closer to them when sleeping (Twenge, 2017).

Possible Changes to Public Policy by the Author

The public policy holds that whenever one is in professional meeting like in class should switch their phones off. Again, it is unlawful to use mobile phones while driving and the government must punish text-drivers because they are most likely to cause accidents. The public policy should also ensure that the teens do not use mobile phones to harass others, cyber bullying. The changes to public policy that this author can endorse are for the teens to have minimal contact with the screens and participate in activities that do not involve the screen. Too much time on the screens causes unhappiness, and therefore the teens, as well as their families, should prioritise offline connections. Parents should also foster teens' emotional and attention self-awareness so that they can make better decisions. Again while at school the teens should have their smartphones switched off for them to focus on their academics work. Finally, there is a need to support the social life of the teens both online and offline.

References

Twenge, J. M. (2017). Have smartphones destroyed a generation. The Atlantic.

https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/multiracial-group-of-people-with-cellphones-gm503482104-82545639