Essay Sample on Teenagers, Technology, and Social Isolation: Investigating the Impact

Introduction

Every day, an average teenager spends up to eight hours on electronic devices, which amount to more than 56 hours per week (Orben et al., 173). Technology is advancing daily with the invention of new phones, computers, and other electronic devices that are being improved to outshine every previous electronic device. Teens are becoming more and more eager to have the newest and best brand of phones, computers, or iPods. As much as teenagers are using technology daily, they are beginning to isolate themselves from families and friends as they try to limit their communication skills. As technology continues to advance, it is consequently affecting teenagers, and this discussion is to cover the negative effect of technology on teenagers.

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Teens are becoming isolated from the real world as they become addicted to technology. Most of the teens are now communicating through Facebook, texting, and online chatting. Teens nowadays do not pick up phone calls when being called by family mender or friend, making verbal communication skills seem outdated among teens. Not only computers and cell phones negatively isolate teens, IPod to isolate teens, but about 86% of teenagers also own mp3 player or an iPod, where thy isolate themselves by playing music that put them into another world instead of communicating with others (Oberst et al., 51-60). The appearance of tens with headphones on their ears reflects on how teens want to listen to music because when headphones are on, it is hard to have a clear conversation. Teens argue that cell phones provide a quick way of contacting friends and family; however, teens are becoming glued to their cell phones. An approximate 75% of teens own cell phones, and 87% of those who own cell phones send and receive text messages daily (Oberst et al., 50-61). Teens consistently receive text messages, and they text back whether at family dinner, a movie, or even while driving.

Teens are not only paying attention during class sessions, but they are also taking the texting language in their real way of writing assignments. Approximate 38% of teens say that they have adopted shortcuts such as "LOL," which stands for laugh out loud while doing schoolwork (Anderson 2018). Slang and abbreviations created while texting does not follow proper English grammar, and as many teens are regularly using subconscious language in their schoolwork, and the texting language is limiting teens' vocabulary and written communication skills. As much as technology is improving the world through its advancement, teens need to avoid addiction to electronic devices and isolation from family and friends. Teens should instead engage in verbal communication consistently to avoid electronic distractions. Shortly, if tens continue to neglect verbal communication, it will be challenging to raise leaders who can stand in front of the congregation to address specific issues that face the community, state, or the whole world.

The vast use of technology solutions results in deficient social skills among teens. Business meetings nowadays are held over Skype, and teens chat in messenger rather than meeting up with friends in person as they try to imitate what their parents do for the basis of their jobs (Oberst et al., 50-61). On one side, technology appears to create a global network that brings people together from different regions. Still, the fact is that technology is replacing real-life communication, which ends up into isolations which are mostly being reflected in teens' lifestyle. Moreover, strong social bonds among teens are being replaced by a small number of friends in social networks; as a result, teenagers feel lonely and depressed. Teenagers are now living in their own world of staring on the device screen, even when being surrounded by friends and family. As the teens replace real-life with online communication interactions, they are losing the ability to read social cues such as facial expressions, tone of voice, direct wording, and body language. It is difficult for a teen nowadays to recognize or examine the feelings that their family member or friends undergo. This is because teens no longer maintain their eye contact with people who surround them; they are always on their electronic devices, making it difficult to recognize any kind of unusual behavior among people whom they spend time with.

The Internet has become a great tool in the education sector for learning. One can google any information needed rather than spending much of the time in the library or attending online courses (Johnson & Jon 2020). Yet the involvement of technology does not guarantee the quality performance of teenagers in their academics. Teenagers are overusing technology in their classrooms, which is negatively affecting the learning process. Plagiarism and cheating in exams have increased while analysis and critical thinking have started to decline; this has put the thinking ability of teens in jeopardy (Johnson & Jon 2020). Most study claims that as teenagers use technology for entertainment purposes such as playing games, they become less performance in their academics. Most of the teens indulge in entertainment instead of reading and doing homework. Teenagers now have a hard time focusing their attention on class lessons and resisting impulsive behavior because they know that using the Internet to search for information gives higher grades. At the same time, online gaming is associated with lower exam results.

Technology has a significant impact on cyberbullying, as many teenagers think that they can say something using social media instead of face to face. According to New National Bullying Data and Cyber Bullying Data, 34% of students have experienced cyberbullying in their lifetime (Zsila & Agnes 1252-1267). Four in every five students that experienced cyberbullying said that the comment about them was posted online, while 70% of the total students who experienced cyberbullying said that someone spread rumors online about them (Zsila & Agnes 1252-1267). It is noted that about two-thirds of the students who experienced cyberbullying were much affected by their ability to learn and feel safe in the school environment. Some teens claimed that they bully others using social media because they do not have the courage to say it face to face as they do not see their facial expressions.

Technology causes depression among teens because social media shows things that can make the body of someone look perfect (Robinson & Thomas S97-S101). Social media makes teens think that there is a guaranteed way they need to look like as they compete themselves, among others. Social media makes teens have the trouble of being social, being face to face as compared to the screen. Many teens get used to talking through the phone, and they do not know what to say in person. People who are self-described as having addictive behavior of style towards the Internet and cell phones experience a lot of anxiety and depression. Technology causes depression because it tries to convince teens that there is another way in which their body can look perfect; thus, making teens experience struggles while communicating person to person.

Technology also causes physical health decrease among teenagers because the number of teens who go out to play without any technology has rapidly decreased. According to the study of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, it says that technology contributes to big reasons why obesity is currently increasing among teens (Robinson & Thomas S97-S101). Today, teens would rather eat and get into their electronic devices to access social media instead of going outside to play. Technology also causes attention-deficit among teens because many of them watch TV and access their phones and laptops while doing their homework. Teens continuously go back and front from homework to answering a text or watching the television when a particular episode is being aired. This has made teens engage in multitasking of activities and failing to pay much attention to their school work. Technology as and the impact of attention deficit, it does not give teens to concentrate one activity for a specified period of time fully.

Conclusion

Technology has a substantial negative impact on daily life, which most of us do not realize. Technology is negatively affecting teenagers because it causes cyberbullying, it causes depression, it is an attention deficit, and much so it affects the academic performance and health conditions of many teens. As much technology continues to be advanced, which attracts the attention and curiosity of teens to own the most current electronic devices, much is required to do for the future benefit and safety of teens as much technology is concerned in day to day life.

Works Cited

Anderson, Monica, and Jingjing Jiang. "Teens, social media & technology 2018." Pew Research Center 31 (2018): 2018.

Brewster, Hannah. "How Does Technology Affect Teens?" NHSPress, newfieldpress.org/6920/opinion/how-does-technology-affect-teens/.

Geldard, Kathryn, David Geldard, and Rebecca Yin Foo. Counseling adolescents: The proactive approach for young people. SAGE Publications Limited, 2019.

May. "5 Surprising Negative Technology Effects You Don't Suspect." Kidslox, 10 May 2019, kidslox.com/blog/top-5-negative-effects-of-technology-you-even-dont-suspect/

Johnson, Jon. "Negative Effects of Technology: Psychological, Social, and Health." Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 25 Feb. 2020, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/negative-effects-of-technology#summary.

"Login." TeenInk, www.teenink.com/hot_topics/all/article/179836/Technologies-negative-impact-on-Teens/.

Oberst, Ursula, et al. "Negative consequences from heavy social networking in adolescents: The mediating role of fear of missing out." Journal of adolescence 55 (2017): 51-60.

Orben, Amy, and Andrew K. Przybylski. "The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use." Nature Human Behaviour, 3.2 (2019): 173.

Robinson, Thomas N. "Screen media exposure and obesity in children and adolescents." Pediatrics 140.Supplement 2 (2017): S97-S101.

Zsila, Agnes, "Gender differences in the association between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration: the role of anger rumination and traditional bullying experiences." International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 17.5 (2019): 1252-1267.