Technology has been a part of a lot of adolescents and it affects everyone whether its positive or negative. Over a period of time technology has given us new addiction disorder. Teens go online “almost constantly.” Many teenagers decided to let technology control their daily living. Nearly all teens have or have access to technology. The way we look for our needs are through the use of the internet because everyone obviously thinks that the internet has all the answers. If we learn through the teachings of education, we wouldn’t need to depend on our technology for the answers. The main thing that technology does for a teen is the gossip and acceptance. It’s the thought of gossiping and trying to meet new people. It causes teens to change their attitude and the way they live their life. The use of the internet can be a useful tool but sometimes it’s just the addiction to be a part and to belong. Even though technology makes work easier, some parents are worried because of the negative impact a technology does for a teen. The new makings of technology almost every day with teens has been a big issue in today’s world. No one will understand how the internet became so important to one teens life. It’s affecting so much lives and not just adolescent but the people around them.
With new inventions being made every day, it is not easy to figure out what will happen in the future. Technology became the main priority in America. Social media has a strong impact on teenagers. Social media became one of the main necessity that gives fun activities and gives a great source for answers that they happen to have in their daily living. There’s billions of websites with information that happens to have the answers for everything their looking for or the need to ask others for the answer. As the world become lazier because of the use of technology teenagers learn less without the proper learning in school.
More and more teenagers are being distracted with the use of smartphones. They forget that there’s more to life than being focused on that screen. “Smart-phones are destroying their brains” (Flora). Teenagers are always on their phones no matter the location. You will see them on the smartphones while having dinner, with family, at school, or even work. It’s part of their life. They seem to be more distracted and it affects how they live. The more they are on the internet, the more problems they face. As years go by, the percentage of teens using technology grows as stated “As of 2015, 73 percent of teenagers in the U.S. had a smartphone, and, as of 2016, 84 percent of American households contained one, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. With so many devices at their disposal, a full 92 percent of teens defined in this report as those ages 13 to 17 report going online daily, including 24 percent who say they do so “almost constantly” Only 12 percent say they go online just once a day” (Flora). You won’t see most teenagers not on their phones. Even if they are around the people, they have the ability to still communicate with the other person through their phones. To add to the increase “With the increased role of modern technology in the adolescents' lives has come the increased concern about how adolescents might be affected. This may take them away from important social interactions that develop in-person relationships” (Moawad). It makes teens life become separated from the people they care about that’s right in front of them. “The more time spent on television, computers, cell phone and video games leads to a lower quality of attachment to parents” (Moawad). Parents soon to realize that their kids are being taken from them slowly with the use of technology. Technology became them. They use it for everything.
Communicating through the use of smartphones or any kind of devices makes the use of speaking or spelling correctly seem useless. Most people think that “the use of technology is useless and it may be harming people” (Article). Every teen is so focused on being on their phone that they tend to use it while driving. No life is worth losing when it comes to being stuck on the phone. In Turkle’s article she observed students with their reasoning’s on why they text and drive and their responses was “to connect” and it’s the curiosity that build to wanting to know what’s going on. “These young people live in a state waiting for connection. And they are willing to take risks, to put Themselves on the line.” These actions are terrifying because it’s the choices the teens make for their life. Making technology a priority is not a healthy living. Being in danger to yourself just to belong is not good. Teens need to realize that being on their phones 24/7 would damage how they think. They seem to rely on their phones more than anything. Simply because someone feels like they must respond to a text immediately is why many of the accidents occur. Most of the time, accidents lead to car accidents that can result in death. The biggest affected by this problem would have to be teens because of how careless they think. In the end, no one’s life should be put at risk from this problem. The main priority while driving is being focused on your surroundings while on the road not on technology or any kind of device.
Technology never existed in the world of education. The effects of technology in the classroom are being brought up by the teacher and the students. With technology existing in adolescents lives, education became easier for them. The teacher is not the main focus of learning. An evidence shows “Classroom expectations and educational standards have also changed because of the integration of technology in the classroom, resulting in technology becoming a classroom necessity rather than a luxury” (Hicks). Teachers gets distracted when students are using their phones, it’s reasons why most classroom bands the use of cellphones in class. Yes, technology is useful but it’s a distraction. The change made it hard for teachers to cope because most students doesn’t listen and they’ll depend on their technology to help them through their life. Teachers one reason to hate technology is “The most prevalent reason is that they fear they will “look stupid” in front of their tech-savvy students because of their inability to effectively utilize technology in the classroom” (Hicks). Teachers will start to feel insecure for because their teaching to the students is not being acknowledge due to the fact that technology has all the answers. Teachers need to find a wayto make their students interested in actually listening to them rather than losing them while doing a lecture.
The use of technology can be useful in so many ways. There’s ways to reconnect, and meet with people. Information on things we need can be searched easily. Each social media you can ever find can be useful in certain ways. There are numbers of things that are bad when it comes to teens using technology but there are also good things that technology does for a person. Adolescents thinks that the use of the internet gives them the benefit of always interacting with others. It helps the young mind to keep searching and searching. The source of being able to show of who they are but for some it’s to be who they want to be because they can’t do it in real life. They see social media as to connect with others. Teens can be more informed on recent events but the point of living is to live life through your own not through the screen. “The prevalence of technology in everyday life has shifted students toward a more visual learning style. Students, in turn, may not respond as well to traditional teaching methods that focus mainly on lecture and textbook reading” (Hicks). This is important because we get to hear about the problems in America and how teenagers learn their own life and books are never touched by almost anyone. Teachers nor books aren’t being used for learning, most learning is being done through social media. The decision is always on them, the path they choose to live won’t get them far if they think all the answers will be answered for them.
The use of technology took over most teenagers. They live through the screen and forget they still have the life in front of them. The use of internet has its goods but it has its negative. Don’t let your phone control your life. You’re a person not controlled by others. Limit how much you use any technology so that you can share your moments of your life with people around you. There are several positive impacts of technology on our lives but there are several downsides too. We cannot abandon technology now but we can also decide to not let it be the one to control who we are or who we want or be.
Annotated Bibliography
CUNNINGHAM, CAROLYN M. "Men Are Like Bluetooth, Women Are Like Wi-Fi": What Feminist Technology Studies Can Add to the Study of Information and Communication Technologies." Northwest Journal of Communication, vol. 43, no. 1, Spring2015, pp. 7-21. EBSCOhost, 0-search.ebscohost.com.library.4cd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=101054565&site=eds-live.
In this article, it mentions the different studies that can help growth of body studies through technology. It’s to better analyze gender inequality. The focus of this article is identifying to what extent gender inequality can be understood through the lens of feminist technology studies. To determine what technology can do to one gender.
Flora, Carlin. "Are Smart-Phones Really Destroying the Adolescent Brain?." Scientific American, vol. 318, no. 2, Feb. 2018, pp. 30-37. EBSCOhost, 0-search.ebscohost.com.library.4cd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hxh&AN=127266569&site=eds-live.
Smartphones became a part of adolescent’s life. They talk about the big impact of smartphones on adolescents. These young adults are becoming mentally ill using technology and its taking over them more than it should be. They talk about the rise in students with anxiety.
Hicks, Stephanie Diamond. "Technology in Today's Classroom: Are You a Tech-Savvy Teacher?." Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, vol. 84, no. 5, 01 Jan. 2011, pp. 188-191. EBSCOhost, 0-search.ebscohost.com.library.4cd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ935845&site=eds-live.
Most schools didn’t used to ban technology in the past. Now technology became a problem especially with schools. Technology manipulates anybody to use it. Technology is a distraction when it comes to education because most students aren’t learning anything because they are more focused on their technology than the instructor. The growth of technology gave students the advancement on learning on their own that, teachers don’t need to cover a lot so that students can just research it themselves.
Moawad, Gehan EL Nabawy Ahmed and Gawhara Gad Soliman Ebrahem. "The Relationship between Use of Technology and Parent-Adolescents Social Relationship." Journal of Education and Practice, vol. 7, no. 14, 01 Jan. 2016, pp. 168-178. EBSCOhost, 0-search.ebscohost.com.library.4cd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1103022&site=eds-live.
Adolescents spend many hours a day using the technology. Many of them have access to Internet, cell phones, smart phone, and video games. With the technology growth, lives has come the increased concern about how adolescents might be affected. This may take them away from important social interactions that develop in-person relationships.
To-Miles, Flora and Lynn Shaw. "Knowledge Transfer with Children and Adolescents in Promoting Comfort, Health, and Safety in Technology Use: Strategies and Opportunities." Work, vol. 43, no. 3, Nov. 2012, pp. 387-397. EBSCOhost, 0-search.ebscohost.com.library.4cd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eih&AN=80731517&site=eds-live.
Teenagers encounter many injuries and safety hazards when using a technology. Many experience pain when for the first hours of using the any technology. some researchers and health professionals believe that children and adolescents can use ergonomic information to address their comfort, health, safety and actions in many daily activities such as being involved in sports, school work, when using electronic technologies such as computers, Ipads, cell phones, and video games.
Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together : Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York : Basic Books, c2011., 2011. EBSCOhost, 0-search.ebscohost.com.library.4cd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat04925a&AN=ccc.b328705&site=eds-live.
In Turlle’s book chapter 9, Turkle talks about how adolescents are so focused on their technology that they need time to learn who they really are. Turkle questioned young adults about their use of technology and why they use it. Also mentions the separation it makes for friends and family.
Warnecke, Tonia. "Social Innovation, Gender, and Technology: Bridging the Resource Gap." Journal of Economic Issues (Taylor & Francis Ltd), vol. 51, no. 2, June 2017, pp. 305-314. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00213624.2017.1320508.
While technology is often linked to direct job creation, GDP growth, emergence of new services and industries, workplace transformation and business innovation institutionalists note that technology is not exogenous. Instead it influences the cultural habits ad human views of what really is important. Technology is rather broad and diverse material that we can learn from in so many ways. Either a technology is labeled as “appropriate” or “inappropriate” its determined to either be cultural, economic, and political. Technology can be used in various ways.