When the subject of my generation’s obsession with smartphones and social media is brought up by my parents, my intuitive teenage comeback is to roll my eyes. Truthfully, they have every right to complain about the subject. Of course I am obsessed with the new taco emoji update or endless possibilities Snapchat presents, but after I look at the clock and two hours has passed, there is an overwhelming guilt about how much of my life is consumed by looking at a 6 inch by 3 inch square of light. In the broad spectrum of things, why am I worrying about the little drawing of a face I’m sending over text or how funny I can make a picture that the receiver can only see for 3 seconds?
But then again, let’s say I take this smartphone out of my life?
Last week, my phone dropped and shattered so bad that the phone wouldn’t even turn on anymore. So naturally I felt like this…
Of course you could drop it off the Empire State Building and it's fine but if it falls off of a table, it’s unusable. Because of this incident, I realized just how dependent I am on my phone (it’s sad really). Everything I do ends up leading me back to something I need my phone for.
So it turns out, I’m really fighting for both teams in the war of technology: Ruining our world vs. Enhancing our world.
Here’s why I believe smartphones are ruining our world:
1. “I was gunna write my paper but then I heard Snapchat got a new update.”
We get so mesmerized by our phones that we lose track of time. Oh you’re bored? Play candy crush for a few minutes.
Oh you took an indie pic on Mullholland Drive last week? Why don’t you put it through 50 different filters while you’re at it.
...the possibilities are endless. What part of life doesn’t our smartphone address? When it seems that any answer we need is at our fingertips, it makes for a very lazy, spoiled world (how realistic Wall-E is still haunts me).
2. “Dude...Olivia's snapchat of you last night...”
My second point, it adds anxiety to our lives.
When we aren’t on our phone, we’re wondering what’s happening on it. Did he text me? Did someone tag me in a photo on Facebook where I have a serious double chin? What if I missed a funny Insta? I mean, I’m talking serious FOMO of an inanimate object.
3. “I've only gotten two likes in five minutes... do I take it down?”
When we get a smartphone, the first thing we do is download all our social media apps. We follow friends, celebrities, news, models we wish we looked like. Ultimately, social media becomes a competition. This makes us focus on irrelevant, superficial issues.
But here is why I believe smartphones enhance our world:
1. It is a great safety outlet.
We can stay in touch with someone whenever we need to.
2. We are able to work on the go.
Answer emails, open google docs, read a book.
3. We capture amazing memories.
With the easy access to a camera, we can preserve more moments with the touch of a button.
So here’s what I’ve decided about the subject. You can make it whatever you want to be. If you want to be the girl on Instagram buying her followers and freaking out about your amount of likes…go for it. But keep in mind you can also be the person that makes use of a smartphone (or any technology for that matter) when they really need to. Don't have it out at dinner, don't have it out during your daughter's ballet rehearsal, and don't have it out during your walk in Audubon Park. Live in the moment. Don't let the next level in candy crush or your Tinder swiping take you to the dark side.
