By Danielle Alisantosa & Annabel Sun, Staff Writers
Phones are used everyday in everyone’s life. They are irreplaceable, and people tend to create a strong attachment to them. That being said, while phones can both connect people in person and make long distance relationships easier, it can also be harmful to the current friendships people have around them. Depending on how it is used, technology can be both beneficial and detrimental to the lives and relationships of people that use them.
Most people would say they use their phones or computers several times a day. Without a doubt, phones are a tool that many people could not live their lives without, whether they’re used to text friends, watch Youtube videos, or check grades on Canvas. Because of the variety of ways that phones are used in daily life, they can sometimes have an overall positive effect on our lifestyles.
Phones can be used as a tool to help people sustain their relationships, especially over long distances. It’s easy to call or facetime people that live several states or even countries away, such as relatives or friends that have moved. The major benefit to phones is the ability to stay in touch with others, sometimes assisted by different applications and social media. Because of phones, people can maintain relationships with others over long distances, using quick and inexpensive communication.
Social media is another common use of phones, especially with teenagers. Social media, in its simplest form, is a platform for people to share their life. Whether it’s following celebrities, laughing at memes, or just keeping up with a small circle of friends, teenagers use social media in a variety of different ways. Social media can help strengthen relationships between friends through maintaining streaks on Snapchat or liking each other’s posts on Instagram. Because of this, social media can be used to connect with people you know in real life, in addition to people far away. Because of the variety of ways that social media can be used, it can be enjoyed in many different environments, in whatever way the person likes best.
Finally, technology is certainly useful in a school context. Using technology in education has become an increasing occurrence, and many of our classes utilize computers or phones on a daily basis. Typing up essays in English, doing research in History, or using simulations in science classes are just some of the ways that we use computers in our classes. Computers are also a daily tool in doing homework, since many assignments are digital. Aside from using computers for school, technology can also be used to help students find resources to study, or even just ask friends for help on questions they don’t understand. In addition, Mills uses social media for school spirit. Most clubs have Instagram accounts, as well as each Mills grade. As students, teenagers spend as much time thinking about school as they do being social, so the effect of technology on education is a hidden but crucial part of our lives.
It can be said without a doubt that the internet and the advancing forms of technology has benefited society tremendously in the past decades. With each new version of computer and smartphone comes a new and improved function that makes human’s lives supposedly easier. While that may include increasing the demographic of people whom individuals interact with, and solidify stronger relationships, there are some downsides to the rise of technology. Computers, in all sizes and forms can most definitely assist people of all ages in expanding their circle of friends, but while their activity online is thriving, their personal relationships in reality could be suffering.
An online article by Freedom, “ Screen time: It’s not just for kids anymore” states, “Kids aged 8 to 18 spend an average of 7.5 hours in front of screens for entertainment (social media, instagram tiktok etc.) every day,” thus, leaving very little time to interact with family and participate in bonding activities such as family game night or family dinners, as children are just too tired to stay engaged by the end of the day. Many children and teenagers claim that being online helps them cope with stress and anxiety, and the internet essentially becomes an escape. However, this eventually harms the family dynamic as the children of the household spend less and less time interacting and communicating with their family members. Subsequently, the members of the family stop relying on each other, but rather on a cold addicting brick, ultimately detaching themselves from the family as a whole. In addition, due to the accustomed false sense of security that comes from the internet, rather than confronting the family face to face about certain issues, we turn to the internet.
Increased screen time also affects relationships amongst friends. While it seems the internet would strengthen the bond between acquaintances – with the privilege of available communication anytime and anywhere – there have been many cases where children actually felt more disconnected than bonded. For instance, the internet, while a resourceful place to exhibit creativity and share personal life, can cause real life competition and unhealthy behavior with the standards social media such as instagram create for us. For example: one friend may feel jealous or insecure of another, downplaying into an unhealthy relationship where negative judgements and self esteem exist. This results in a fragmented friendship, broken by miscommunication and feelings of envy. Not only that, the internet is basically a collective platform of strangers, consisting of people like pedophiles and catfishers. Interacting with one of these dangerous individuals could be a traumatic experience, possibly severing any existing attachments or engagement to the world its people. , there have been numerous cases of adolescents uploading inappropriate pictures, seemingly privately, and having them leaked. That one unintentional mistake has been seen to ruin reputations, and create an inability to return to society out of embarrassment and shame.
Furthermore, depression is a common outcome of extreme internet involvement as it creates a lack of human social participation. Humans are social creatures and if an individual is deprived of such social interactions, one can begin to feel depressed. Depression oftentimes forms an inability to fully connect with a person, possibly shattering one’s will to talk, play, or go outside. The internet contributes to this phenomenon by increasing online interaction without the physical act of seeing others in person and discouraging forms of social activities such as sports and clubs and replacing them with mindless pastimes such as playing video games and watching T.V.
Not only does increased connectivity put children at higher risk of depression, children are easily exposed to bad influences and media when on the web. For example Youtubers, TikTokers and Instagram influencers often display questionable and inappropriate behavior, such as swearing uncontrollably or uttering offensive jokes. This leaves an impression on children’s attitudes, where they adopt these influencer’s mannerisms and cause the child to be socially inept, unaware of social cues, and reacting improper. Kids will become isolated from school cliques and society as a whole, throwing away the opportunity to build proper relationships. Yes, the internet is a grand innovation, but as young children can easily get addicted, consideration of how an individual spends their time in front of the screen should be applied when weighing the options of technology.
Technology offers a mixed bag of opportunities, depending on how the technology is used. On one hand, technology allows people to choose how they want to connect with a variety of ways to use social media in order to reach out to people regardless of distance. Even without social media, technology is inescapable, since it is used as a daily part of students’ lives. On the other hand, technology and social media quickly become addicting, and can make it harder to interact in real life. Technology usage can also cause negative mental health, due to many bad influences on the internet. In the end, phones, social media, and technology are all tools and opportunities, with both positive and negative effects depending on how they are used. Because of this, the most important thing is to be aware of the issues and thoughtful in personal use of technology. The Thunderbolt wishes that all students be responsible with their technology usage.
