In the past decade or two, technology has taken the world by storm. With the appearance of smartphones and tablets, the most recent generation of teens and preteens have become all consumed by such devices. In turn, these time and energy taxing screens have caused a significant paradigm shift between the most recent generation, “iGen,” and past generations.
By definition, a paradigm shift is a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions, and the transition in societal tendencies caused by smartphones supports the paradigm shift definition perfectly. As stated in the article “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation” by Jean Twenge, she makes mention of how iGen has notably higher levels of loneliness and depression, which is linked to the progressive increase in the use of smartphones. According to the The Monitoring the Future survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Teens who spend more time than average on screen activities are more likely to be unhappy, and those who spend more time than average on non screen activities are more likely to be happy” (Twenge).
Furthermore, kids have been mentioned to have much lower social skills compared to other generations. The article quotes, “12th-graders in 2015 were going out less often than eighth-graders did as recently as 2009” (Twenge). Teenagers lack of leaving their home is one thing, but it is also mentioned that they have less sex, date less, and have no desire to drive.
Finally, the article acknowledges that teenagers today sleep less due to the frequent vibrations combined with teen’s inability to put their phone away when going to bed. There are references to such lack of sleep by claiming that “Fifty-seven percent more teens were sleep deprived in 2015 than in 1991. In just the four years from 2012 to 2015, 22 percent more teens failed to get seven hours of sleep.”
In short, smartphones and tablets have caused a paradigm shift for the worse; teens today are overcome by the struggle technology brings rather than the benefits.