The Future of Social Media Is Mobile Essay Sample
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The Future of Social Media Is Mobile Essay Sample
It is inevitable when you go out in public today without seeing someone on a smartphone. The smartphone had progressed over time. A smart phone is a mobile phone which offers advanced technologies that perform similar to a personal computer with the similarities of a simple phone. Today it seems everyone has a cell phone especially teens who are attached to their phones and feel they cannot do anything without them. Social media through a smartphone connects people to others, but it has its bad points also.
Twenge tells us through her research that today’s teens sleep less and don’t have much of a social life than those of earlier generations. Some who spend more time on line develop depression they also have trouble functioning, interacting and being social with people. As teens get older and are looking for jobs they will not know how to talk intelligently to people. Twenge states that parents play a major role in their child and social media. Parents think they are doing the right thing by wanting their children to stay home, when in fact the impact is not a positive one because children submerge themselves in their devices.
Also, girls who are on their phones are more affected than boys and have more problems mentally and socially. It’s not necessarily the smartphone that is bad, but the time spent on it. It is also knowing when to be on it and for what purpose. There is nothing like a face to face conversation. The world would be more social place if we can talk and interact with each other instead of texting. Today’s generation spends less time physically with family and friends and more time on electronic devices such as smartphones.
Social media through a smartphone connects people to others, but it has its bad points also. Jean Twenge’s article tells us through her research that today’s teens don’t have much of a social life and sleep less than those of earlier generations. She warns that “the use of the smartphone and social media has caused an earthquake of a magnitude we’ve not seen in a very long time, if ever. There is compelling evidence that the devices we’ve placed in young people’s hands are having profound effects on their lives making them seriously unhappy (Twenge). ”
Since the smartphone has appeared there has been a drastic change in every part of teenagers’ lives, from their social contacts to their mental health. The changes that happened have happened to teens of all walks of life everywhere it doesn’t matter whether they are rich, poor or if they live in the suburbs, rural towns, or cities. Twenge says that she has studied generational change for decades, and usually the changes are subtle and gradual. In this case, she says the changes are monumental and dramatic (Twenge). She tells us that teenagers’ now are the first generation to have smartphones these teens have never known anything else.
Smartphones are not an addition to their reality; they are part of reality (Twenge). In reading the article, Twenge, tells us that she “noticed abrupt shifts in teen behavior and emotional states (Twenge). ” “The arrival of the smartphone has radically changed every aspect of a teenager’s life from the nature of their social interaction to their mental health (Twenge)”. In her article Twenge discusses not only the effect lengthy usage of smartphones has on teen attention spans, social skills and the nature of social interactions, but also discusses the effects on mental health.
She argues a negative mental effect of living on your phone is factor in teen depression, loneliness and possible suicide (Twenge). She offers a lot of specific information. It seems that there is a very strong argument between using smartphones and depression. The more kids use smartphones, the more they may become unhappy. Instead of going to the mall, socializing with their friends, and talking face to face they are more likely to stay at home on their phones with little or no contact from friends.
Teens that visit social-networking sites every day, but see their friends in person less frequently say they are lonely (Twenge). According to various studies, the results have been that “Teens who spend more time than average on activities on their phone are more likely to be unhappy, and those who spend average time on non phone activities are more likely to be happy (Twenge). ” Nearly 80% of teens in the new survey said they checked their phones hourly, and 72% said they felt the need to immediately respond to texts and social networking messages.
Thirty-six percent of parents said they argued with their child daily about device use, and 77% of parents feel their children get distracted by their devices and don’t pay attention when they are together at least a few times per week (Lamansky 1). A quarter of the students used their phones for more than two hours a day. On average, they activated their phones more than 80 times a day, every 12 minutes on average (University Bonn, 4). Using a cell phone can result in symptoms resembling an addiction. Excessive use might result in neglecting essential daily responsibilities or one’s direct social environment.
Outright withdrawal symptoms can actually occur when cellphones cannot be used (5). All this information is alarming, but I don’t necessarily agree with all the points made by Jean Twenge and others concerning this topic. They are basically stating and the evidence shows that excessive use of social media can make you feel alone, displaced and cause possible health issues. Like alcohol and drugs smartphones are addictive and brings harm to the human body. But, on the other hand we always enjoy the convenience that something brings us and ignore the negative aspect of something.
Teens can see for themselves the positive and negative sides of spending time online even if they don’t want to recognize it. What the reality is about smartphone compulsion is that people are not obsessed with their smartphone, they are addicted to the entertainment, diversion, information, and personal connections it delivers. People will persist to do whatever they have to so they can connect with others. The key is to do everything in moderation because smartphones do provide a convenient, immediate way to stay up to date, linked, and entertained.