In the early 2000s, the thought of a phone not only mobile, but equipped with professional-level cameras, thousands of options for games, and easy access to a growing social media platform seemed crazy to imagine. Now, in 2019, smartphones have become an essential for U.S. citizen’s lives, and the age at which children are given one of their own continues to drop.
Merriam Webster defines paradigm shift as “an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way”. The evolution of smartphones and their use in society is a perfect example of a paradigm shift occurring today. Cellphones have greatly impacted the way people live today – in some ways positively, and in some ways negatively.
The main argument to how cellphones have positively impacted the way people live by making communication easier and faster. For parents, ensuring their child’s safety is a mere click of a button away. Or, if texting and calling still doesn’t make them feel certain their kid is okay, parents can now track their children via cellphone. While this seems to be a positive, kids would disagree – constant monitoring can negatively impact their sense of freedom, and therefore instill a sneaky, rebellious spirit in the child as they grow older. Even the positive aspects of cellphones can be examined as a negative aspect.
Then comes social media. Not only are today’s teens being faced with constant monitoring by their parents, but thousands of strangers as well. With all of the various social medias accessible today, such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and more, Millennials and Generation Z are having to deal with a new aspect of their lives. Especially for teenage girls, hours in a day can be spent editing their pictures to make themselves appear more desirable to society’s standards, liking and commenting various people’s posts, and dealing with comments from others on their own posts – whether they are positive, or negative. Not only do teenagers today have to maintain a social media appearance, but they also encounter lots of negativity online, and numerous studies conducted have linked growing rates of depression and anxiety to this dependency on social media. Mental health isn’t the only thing suffering – social media also appears to be harming social skills, primarily in face-to-face interactions.
While cellphones may appear to be a luxury item that has made life not only easier, but also more enjoyable, they have caused detrimental effects on the way people view themselves and spend their time.
I agree with you that smartphones have created a paradigm shift in society today. I really thought it was interesting how you investigated the effect of parental tracking on the feelings of the parents and the teenagers. It’s interesting to think about how much of an addiction phones have become for teenagers, but it could be argued that some parents who are constantly checking the location of their children also have some type of addiction to their phones too. Technology has allowed for greater connections between people, but really can hinder the relationship that they could have had if they talked more “face to face”.