I constantly hear people from past generations, who didn't grow up with modern technology that we have now, complaining about how it's supposedly "ruining" our lives. These people like to argue that our modern technology, like computers and smartphones, is "dumbing us down" because we no longer have to go to the library and read an encyclopedia if we want to know something. We can easily Google anything we need or want to know about. As someone who has actually grown up with these things, I strongly disagree with the notion that our generation is any less intelligent than past generations simply because of our technology making life easier for us.

Are we pretty much always online? Yes. Is it "rotting our brains"? No, it is not. In fact, I can almost guarantee that our easy access to any information we want is actually beneficial to us. We can complete assignments for school much quicker, look up images for inspiration or a reference to create art, news is more easily spread, and we can use Google to help us with anything we need to know how to do. For example, if I don't know how to replace a flat tire, I can look it up online and figure it out myself. Whatever we aren't taught in school that we need to know for everyday life, we can probably find on the internet somewhere. We can gain so much more knowledge now that we have easy access to it.

Another argument people like to use against our computer and smartphone usage is that it makes us less social. Guess what? There have been antisocial people since people started building houses to hide from other people in. The only difference is their forms of entertainment. People always had something they would rather be alone doing, like reading books or watching television. The internet is only a different source of entertainment, for the people who use it that way. Our modern technology can actually help us become more social as well. Rather than waiting for a phone call, we can talk to each other and make plans through text messages and instant messaging on websites such as Facebook. It makes it at least twice as easy to make plans to go do something with a friend or relative. Pokemon Go is also helpful to make us more active and sociable, but I notice many older people complaining about that as well. Who cares if you're looking at your phone here and there as long as you're getting out and getting some exercise and fresh air? Personally, I've had conversations with other people who play Pokemon Go that I normally wouldn't have bothered to speak to at all.

Our dating pool is so much larger too, since we can communicate with anyone else who has internet around the world. If you don't mind long distance relationships, the amount of people you are able to date expands greatly, especially if you're from a small town where there are probably very few options.

My generation is not "dumbed down" from using our computers and smartphones to our advantage. Whether we use it for entertainment, research, socializing, or whatever else, technology has been beneficial to us. Unless it gets to the point where robots take over and enslave us like you might see in some sci-fi movie, technology is not "ruining our lives" at all, but improving our lives instead.