Institutional AffiliationSmartphone Impacts on Teenagers

The advent of communication technology and more so social media and the internet were anticipated to increase connectivity and boost communication. While these two aspects have been considerably achieved, the collateral damage imposed on the people who utilize them is worth to mention. The use of smartphones has been modest among teenagers, and this has adversely affected their development both socially and mentally. Social media and the internet have caused a shift in behavior and emotional states that have significantly impacted on the behaviors of the teenagers (Twenge, 2017). It is hence critical to examine the paradoxical existence of social media. While the intention was to make people more social, all social media have achieved is cause loneliness, and while it was anticipated to spur inclusivity, all it has done is to make people feel left out.

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Social media was intentionally named so, due to its potential of connecting people and making them sociable but with the recent trends, all it has done is to narrow down the geographic barriers and widen the interpersonal gaps between individuals. Socialization to the generation Xers meant the coming together of teenagers and indulging in activities such as chatting, drinking or dating. However, to the iGens, the smartphone generation, all socializing means is on-screen since "they don't need to leave home to spend time with their friends" (Twenge, 2017). Between 2000 and 2015, the number of teens meeting up with their friends to socialize had dropped by 40% and this is the blueprint of the much unsociable teenagers have become (Twenge 2017). Outgoing activities have been significantly substituted to indoors activities which primarily involves individuals locking themselves up in their rooms and igniting the blue light that connects them to the world. Teenagers have, for once in many generations, overlooked aspects such as independence and autonomy, and have held on to practices that can maximize on their screen time. Interactions at a family level have been significantly reduced since even though teens spend most of their time indoors, they barely speak to their parents. While thinking they are sociable, all teens have become is lonely.

Smartphones have offered adolescents and youth a mass of friends where time and again, they often feel alone rather than together. Therefore, in an attempt to fit in, teenagers spend most of their time online, trying to find a clique they can identify with. A step at a time, every day, through this direction hence results in addiction where they can never find the energy to ditch their phones and commence life offline. This is the point where for instance, "if Facebook does your head in, the solution is apparently not to switch off, but more Facebook" (Harris, 2018). The substitution of in-person interactions with on-screen ones has also led to the replacement of intimacy and companionship with loneliness.

Depression and the feeling of rejection have also been tightly linked to the use of smartphones, more so the internet and social media. The mental development of teenagers is hence at stake when it comes to these twin aspects. It all begins from the simple lack of happiness and progresses to borderline suicidal thoughts and actions. Teenagers who spend 10 hours or more online are 56% more likely to be unhappy that those who spend less (Twenge, 2017). "For new behaviors to really take hold, they must occur often" (Harris, 2018). Therefore, the consistent use of social media, and hence the constant feeling of unhappiness causes depression. Even though the probability of the iGen teens going out is limited, once they do, "they document their hangouts relentlessly" on social media, making those uninvited "keenly aware of it" (Twenge, 2017). This, therefore, draws a margin on the socially accepted individuals and the socially alienated. There is also an aspect of cyberbullying that often affects girls more than boys. For once in a long time, the suicide rate of teenagers exceeded that of homicide, and this shows the extent of psychological damage that smartphones have brought forth.

Smartphones are the last things that teenagers see when they retire to bed, and the first they see when they wake up. This translates to an unhealthy obsession over social media and the internet, as well as sleep interruptions and deprivation. It could be that the phones cause depression leading to sleep deprivation, or the phones could be causing sleep deprivation leading to depression. Either way, smartphones have been linked to sleep deprivation and hence depression (Twenge, 2017). Sleep deprivation affects the mood of these teenagers. A depressed teenager is likely to be a depressed adult, and therefore, it is not their short-term feelings at stake, but rather their future as well. Reducing screen time stands out as the best way out of this issue but what is more effective is impacting responsibility and moderation to teenagers once they are on their way to the virtual worlds demarcated by their room walls.

Social media and the internet have been undisputed on their efficacies in connecting individuals, but this is not all they are capable of. These two aspects of the online lives that the teenagers too much adore have gradually deprived them the social experiences they need to be competent members of society as well as infringed on their mental development. Loneliness and depression have been the two vocabularies popular in the online teenage life, and this has primarily impacted on the inclusivity of teenagers in their respective peer groups. Suicide has hence become the riskiest killer for teenagers.

References

Harris J. (2018, January 1). Take it from the insider: Silicon Valley is eating your soul. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/01/silicon-valley-eating-soul-google-facebook-techTwenge J. M. (2017). Have smartphones destroyed a generation? The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/