As technology advances and new mobile phones are created, teenagers slowly lose their ability to interact with others.
Technology has significantly improved and today’s cellphones seem able to do anything. That is a trait teens desperately plead to have.
Although cellphones were originally used for communicating only, these devices have developed a whole new spectrum of uses that have made them even more addictive, to young people especially. Some studies put at more than 90 per cent the number of teens in North America with a mobile phone.
Technology is definitely making huge progress that we should all be proud of, but to what extent?
Not only are teens losing their ability to speak and interact with others, they are also losing interest in everything going on around them.
As many as 65 per cent of students have used their phones in class. Teenagers would rather be texting a friend, posting pictures on Instagram or reading a tweet than listening to a teacher talk.
People under the age of 18 have also been known to receive up to 3,000 text messages a month.
The use of mobile phones is reducing the interest teens have in studying and also reduces the time they use to do any activities that require physical work.
As a teen who has grown up in a generation full of technology, I can say there are pros and cons to it. My parents repeatedly remind me of how lucky I am to be part of a generation where information is more accessible.
In the past, people had to look for information in books. Now we are able to look for anything online, often on our phones.
Although cellphones are obviously useful for communication, I think people are taking their use to a heightened level because verbal, face-to-face communication seems to be fading away.
There is not one day where I go out and see teens sitting at a table and conducting a decent conversation together without looking at their phones.
Last week I went out for dinner with my parents and was shocked when a nearby couple asked for the Wi-Fi password as soon as they sat down, before even asking for the menu. They barely spoke to each other at dinner; they were both engaged with their phones.
Moments like that make me wonder how society will be in a couple of years. Are we just going to be texting each other regardless of the fact that we might be close enough to verbally say something to the other person? Technological gadgets are affecting interaction among people. Teens do not seem to have the capacity to be part of a productive conversation as much as when technology was not as advanced.
It is definitely amazing how we are able to instantly get answers on a mobile device and to communicate with people even in different countries.
But, I think talking to people in front of us might sometimes be more significant, because we get more out of a conversation.
It is an ability mobile phone users are fast losing, due to their addiction to text.
Cristel Lucenilla is a Grade 12 student at Belmont secondary.
