Is My SmartPhone Hurting Me?

 I could not access the entire Atlantic article because I do not pay for a subscription to them, but I found a summary elsewhere that was hopefully adequate.


When I first got a phone it was before 6th grade. My parents figured I should at least have a way to talk to friends and contact them, but I was not allowed to use social media till maybe 7th grade. The main thing I enjoyed about getting a phone was having the ability to take photos so easily. My phone has become a huge part of my life. It’s my main source of information and how I find creative inspiration. Using social media has its many downsides but it does provide interesting information and displays art accessibly. 

I was intrigued by Jean M. Twenge’s article because I myself am part of “iGen.” From the beginning, I assumed Twenge would be biased and take the typical stance that many people from older generations do. It does seem like her aim was to inform, but the excerpts I saw seemed to mold facts. She used studies to argue that the increase in mental health concerns is purely due to technological advancements, which ignores many other important factors. But I do see where Twenge is coming from. I think she raised many valid concerns, but I do have to agree with Sarah Rose Cavanagh that “the data the author chooses to present are cherry-picked,” from what I saw Twenge used many correlational studies, which are not a reliable way to definitively tell if one event causes another, which caused me to lose a little bit of faith in Jean M. Twenge’s article. 

Although, I do believe many issues in our society have been amplified due to phones and social media. I think both of these authors presented compelling points and seemed passionate about their articles. I liked Dr. Cavanagh’s optimistic closing paragraph, but I do believe we should try to cut back on the amount that young children use screens. I would like to cut back on my own social media usage and screen time as well. Unfortunately, I don’t know if I would be very comfortable without my phone for a day. Especially if it was a day when I was in class or driving somewhere. It would certainly feel different to not have an immediate solution to boredom, which would be a good change of pace. I try to avoid scrolling on social media, but I still do some, so it would be nice to not have that option for a day. I hope that as a society we will begin to shift away from the internet slightly, not completely, but I would like to see fewer iPads in children's hands and more books and paper coloring sheets.

Ultimately I think smartphones are an incredible resource that presents very unique issues, making it a difficult topic to cover. Twenge and Cavanagh brought up many valid concerns that many of us, and parents especially, should be worried about. I often see disturbing articles about how fine motor skills and lexile levels are stunted in young children, and I hope this will be corrected. I believe these articles both demonstrated how to respectfully bring up important issues and present their arguments in a palatable way. 


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