Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation? By Jean Twenge

    (summary) In the article “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?”, Jean M. Twenge discusses the effects smartphones have created on younger generations. Twenge is a psychologist who has been researching the differences in generations for 25 years. In accordance to Twenge, smartphones have significantly increased the rates in teen depression and suicide. Twenge describes the generation iGen (born between 1995 and 2012) as being on the verge of the worst mental-health crisis in decades. Twenge’s research shows statistics on many factors that are affected by social media, smartphones, and the internet. For example, the number of teens feeling lonely or depressed has increased significantly since 2011. The number of teens that do activities outside of home is another example. According to Twenge, the number of teens that go out with their

Many times our fears of what is unknown to us are often the strongest fears we hold as human beings. However, what if it was the fear of things we already know that were the most powerful and influential in our lives? In modern society, many hold within themselves a deep-seated fear of the technology that the world has become so revolved around. Additionally, it has recently become debatable whether or not this technology has become a hindrance to members of the so-called iGeneration, born between 1995 and 2012, who have grown up in a world surrounded by technology. Truly, the members of older generations, including millennials who have had themselves split off from the apparent technology obsessed generation of the youngest millennials, have expressed their concern as to whether or not these vast differences in generations have to do with the unhealthy use of technology. Among those to have analyzed this phenomenon is writer Jean M. Twenge who in her article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?,” utilizes the study of a modern 13 year old girl named Athena to exemplify a plethora of determinants that technology has imposed on young people and the slow deterioration of everything from independence and social skills to a decline mental health due to technology use. Many of Twenge’s statements reveal the belief that many members of iGen are unequipped to handle adulthood and are even less happy because of the technology that has played a significant role in their lives

The generation growing up in today’s society behavior has changed since the day smartphones have come into play. Mrs. Twenge has come up with a name, iGen, for the generation growing up with smartphones. “The arrival of the smartphone has radically changed every aspect of teenagers’ lives, from nature if their social interactions to their mental health,” (Paragraph 9). For teens, it doesn’t matter what type of background they have, when you see a cell phone tower you are guaranteed there is teenagers who have a

In her article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, Jean Twenge discusses how the new generation of teenagers are becoming highly dependent on their smartphones and need them alongside them at any given point in time. Twenge calls this new generation born between the late 1990s and early teens “iGen” after a recent survey found that majority of teenagers owned an iPhone. She argues that with every new generation, new habits form, both good and bad. The technological developments that have occurred in the last ten years Twenge argues are not a bad thing, it is how the “iGen” teenagers are becoming reliant on their phones and using them to avoid social interactions. They would choose to stay home alone in their rooms and talk to their friends virtually on social media versus actually leaving the house and doing something face-to-face with their friends. Twenge argues that if teenagers decide to leave the house, phones still have a strong presence, often not leaving the hands of its owner for longer than a couple minutes with social media like Snapchat and Instagram tagging along. Twenge worries that the strong dependency on smartphones and increasing rates of obsession with social media are a couple of the largest contributors to the rise of depression and suicide among the teenagers of “iGen”.

Jean M. Twinge proved that showing the bar graph of using smartphones during the day and night; they found lots of impact. Smartphones have defined the characteristics of the millennials; this is why it has led to changes in the society. The author has been researching the use of smartphones with this generation for 25 years and has found that this characteristic has come to define this generation. This generation has been increasing since the “baby boomer “era that occurred after World War II, which started in 1939. Twinge was interested in studying the millennial generation to find as much information as she could. She explains that she found out that the excessive use of smartphones changes teen behaviors and emotional states. She also showed us her analyses data to show us the differences. She explains there is a big difference between the millennials and the predecessors like the way they view the world. It is not about only their behavior they had that was the difference but also how they spent their time. “In 2012, Americans

In her article “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, Jean M. Twenge discusses the effects on “generation i” with rising smartphone and social media usage. In the article, she provides multiple statistics to support her claims on what’s happening with the “i generation”, and generations past through social media use. She concludes that while smartphones have some positive social impact on the generation (like lower teen pregnancy rates), there has been real damage to the generation as well. I have concluded that, our generation has been more negatively impacted through smartphone usage than positively impacted. This is a strong point to make but, through my own experiences and, after reading Twenge’s article I find myself thinking about what smartphones have done to us as a growing generation. I have witnessed firsthand numerous downsides to having a smartphone that Twenge reports on.

Adolescents believe they much always be available and parents believe this too. This type of lifestyle is

In American author and psychologist, Jean Twenge’s article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” Twenge argues that smartphones have seriously taken a toll on Millennials. She claims that smartphones are wreaking havoc on Millennials’ mental health, as this generation is apparently “safer than ever” physically, they are “seriously unhappy” with life in general (Twenge 4). According to Twenge, children who see their friends on social media more than they do face-to-face feel lonely and excluded. I feel that with a majority of my generation, this is accurate to an extent. Many fights and arguments between younger people stem from Instagram and Snapchat posts. For example, innovations like the SnapMap now allow people to view their friends’ locations. Various viral memes, a humorous image, video, etc. copied and spread rapidly throughout the Internet,

In “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” written by, the Psychology Doctor, Jean M. Twenge, she presents the results produced after twenty-five years of research (Twenge para3). Her research was carried out to understand the new generation and explain how it differs to the previous generations (Twenge para9). Although her style is indeed formal, she utilized a heavy amount of credentials, logos, emotional appeal and a factual tone, to enforces her appeal on the parents of the kids of this new generation. Furthermore, she underlays her stand on the topic throughout her analysis, rather than having a direct approach and states actual percentages to compare previous generations to the new one, which leads to a sense of validity. It is not until the very end, that she finally states her stand in a more direct sense, since she has now gained the trust of her audience.

"Casting a curious gaze down on planet Earth, extraterrestrial beings could very well be forgiven for assuming that we humans are programmed in every move we make, by a palm-sized, oblong, slab of glass. More perplexing than that, who on earth could convince them otherwise?"(Willthomasonline “Top 40 Cell Phones Quotes”) Is this what our world has come to? Are we humans so dumb that we are now ruled by this fancy gadget called the "Smartphone"? Of course smartphones are often very convenient and helpful, give us access to each other in the blink of an eye, and make us appear smarter than we truly are, but can too much of a good thing easily become a bad thing? Smart phones do not always benefit the user as experts and cell phone developers claim. Frequent smartphone and cell phone use comes with many forms of danger. Addiction, health risks, and affecting negatively the way we communicate with each other are all major problems for the Smartphone user.

Technology is intended to improve our lives and since the dawn of man progress continues to take shape. We consider technological advances as modern conveniences, and in many respects they improve our lives. The consideration is how to use and integrate these advancements effectively into life. Consider the evolution of the Smartphone and it unknown long-term effects on society. For example, people born after 1995 have virtually grown up with the Smartphone technology and they are affecting an entire generation often referred to as the iGeneration. While progress is good in many ways, the costs are revealed as time passes. Teenagers do not understand a world without technology, in particular, smartphones and their effects on their socialization, mental health, and physical health. Smartphones quite possibly could be making the “iGeneration” less smart and less fulfilled.

In “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation” published by The Atlantic, professor of psychology, Jean M. Twenge, states that the generation called iGens is drastically different than any other generation for the rise of depression and sleep deprivation, which all links up to their use of smartphones. In the beginning Twenge made a phone call to a girl in Texas, asking what her favorite things to do were for iGens research. The thirteen-year-old girl stated that she spends most of her time chatting with her friends or on social media. Twenge has been researching generation differences for twenty-five years. Twenge states that every generation is different, but the difference between iGens and Millennials is

Smartphones and various technologies have become very prominent in todays society. Many teenagers and young adults have grown up watching technology rapidly become more involved with every task the average human does daily. iGen or also known as Generation Z, which is humans born from 1996 to the current year, are the most technology advanced generation there is. This generation grew up with technology and their life’s have been dependent on technology since birth. The term “smartphone” was first introduced in the year 1995. This was fifteen years before the first actual iPhone came out. In America at least 67% of teenagers own an iPhone. (John) Smartphones have become such a major role in society that we do not travel anywhere without a phone, and for some even a phone charger. In an article called, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” written by Jean M. Twenge. Jean is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University. In the article, the author is trying to explain the negative effects that smartphones have on todays youth. She is trying to inform of us that even though the amount of teenagers smoking, drinking, and getting pregnant have decreased by a significant amount, the number of teenagers depressed and unhappy continue to rise daily at a vigorous rate.

The article Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation written by Jean M. Twenge viewed the role of technology only in the lives in teens and excluded a large amount of the population. Technology has revolutionized our lives. We can access information in a matter of minutes from anywhere in the world. This access allows us to connect with people and events in different countries. We are more aware of our surroundings. Technology has made us more efficient while reducing our costs for work and production. However, we are paying a large price for temporary ease. While logging my technology usage I observed others and I realized we are too reliant on technology. While it gives people a chance to change their lives, it also destroys lives. Technology is giving an illusion of people progressing forwards while we have lost our values.

The first generation of kids to be completely surrounded and involved in technology has been born. They grew and were molded around technology from birth, some of the first things they learned was how to use and manage a device like a smartphone. Mind you that they learned these things long before their parents or elders did. Today as a Senior in High School I am a first hand witness of this generation and the effects technology has had on them. I can say without a doubt that there is a major problem with teenagers and young adults today in America. Depression and Anxiety are major problems in today’s youth, also known as generation iGen. It is the first generation to grow up completely surrounded by technology such as smartphones. With this, depression, anxiety and thoughts or attempts of suicide have risen significantly among kids, teenagers and even adults. Parents and kids need to be made aware of this problem and as a country we have to figure out how to manage these devices and save our children from drowning in a life consumed by technology.