Informal Prewriting

In Jean M. Twenge’s article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, she discussed the effects of technology, specifically smartphones, on the population. One claim Twenge makes is that while children are spending more time in their parents’ house they are not close to their mother or father. Children do not have a stronger bond after spending countless hours within a close proximity from each other. Twenge herself writes, “… today’s teens can hardly be said to be closer to their mothers and fathers than their predecessors were.” In other words, Twenge believes even though more time is spent at home, their time at home is not building a stronger relationship. What are the children spending there time doing? The children along with parents spend more time interacting with their smartphone. There were countless examples where the children tried to interact with their parents, yet they were too distracted by their phones and did not pay attention. Children, on the other hand, could do the same things their parents do.

These children could spend hours on end in their bed scrolling through Instagram or Facebook. Time is spent connecting to their phone instead of face-to-face interactions with their family. I find this trend occurs in my household. There have been countless dinners where we sit together but are all on our phone not talking. Also, I find myself so intrigued by something on my phone that I block out what other people are saying to me. Obviously, phones have taken too much of attention. Twenge agrees when she writes, “In my conversations with teens, I saw hopeful signs that kids themselves are beginning to link some of their troubles to their ever-present phone.” The essence of Twenge’s argument is that phones have become problematic and is affecting interactions at home.