Words: 811
The novel takes place in he future, showing how technology can lead to bad instead of good. In a similar way, today our world is run on technology. It seems as if every teen has a smartened because they are so useful and fun. They can be used to play games, text friends, and keep up on social networks, but they disconnect us from the world around us and force us to lose our much-needed social skills. Many teens own smartness or cell phones. In fact, “Overall, 77% of those ages 12-17 have a cell phone” (Lenient). Just to make it clear, cell phones and smartness are different.
Smartness are a type of cell phone but are more advanced. Smartness usually have touch screens, Internet capabilities, and gaming applications (but also have text messaging and calling) while a cell phone’s main (and usually only) use is text messaging and calling. Of all teens that own a cell phone, “31% of those ages 14-17 have a Samaritan?’ (I-unearth). This number has been gradually increasing over the years. Teens are constantly on their phones, whether they are testing, playing games, or social networking.
From my own experiences being a teen, when I elk down the hall or look around at lunch, almost everybody is looking down at their phones even if they are with other people. This shows how cell phones are affecting teens. They would rather be on their phones than share a conversation with a friend. Smartness distract teens from social interactions. Often times, the lack of or type of phone a teen has may affect the friends they have. For example, “According to a University of Florida news story, a Japanese study found that children with cell phones often won’t make friends with other children who don’t have cell phones” (Glares).
This shows how much teens value their phones. Another study concluded, “7% of students had lost a relationship or job due to cell phone usage” (Glares). Teens are constantly on their phone, but they should know when to use a smart phone and when to put away. From my own experiences in awkward situations, a smartened can be used as a distraction or excuse not to talk or interact with others. This can affect teens later on in life. They need to be able to overcome an uncomfortable situation and talk to people they are not familiar with, whether it is for a job interview or the job itself.
Other people may argue that smartness can bring people together. For example, cell phones make people more easily reached (“Assignment #3”). By simply sending a text or calling somebody, it is easy to know where they are and what they are doing. Smartened users are often lured to public places on account of free wife. Free wife can bring groups of people together outside of school or home (“Assignment #3”). Many cafes and restaurants are now advertising free wife to lure in teens and adults with smartness. Another advantage of cell phones is that they make interaction with friends easier.
In fact, “54% of all teens text friends daily” (Lenient). Friends can exchange questions and information over text. Although people argue that smartness can bring people together, I do not agree. What I do agree with is that cell phones make it easier to reach others and exchange information, but this does not show how phones can improve social skills. My argument does not show that testing is bad, but instead shows that if teens use smartness excessively in situations where social interactions are needed they will not develop correct social skills.
When somebody texts very briefly or while alone, testing can be very useful to interact with friends or family but if testing is taking somebody away from the social situation they are in it can be a problem. According to Mark Glares, there is something about face-to-face interactions that just cannot be replicated by text or phone conversations. As for wife do not see how it could bring people together. It may bring many people to the same place, but if they are all on their phones then I would not call that a social interaction.
Overall, smartness could be a danger to the modern teenage and future adult population. Without interactions with others, modern teens could become adults similar to Mildred, shutting out all the Montage in their life and losing those relationships. Colonization and skills of that sort are imperative to life in the real world. Teenagers are losing social skills that are important for their future. Instead of real life experiences, teens are turning to their phones to update their social calendar. Shutting down may be the key to opening up and broadening ten’s social skills.