People my age are some of the last people that can consider themselves '90s children. We grew up with the original Disney Channel, the old Cartoon Network, and watching music videos on MTV. Children of the next generation won't get the pleasure out of playing MASH, or hoping Santa brought an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas. Instead they will be wishing for the new iPhone 12, the latest iPad, or a new TV.

While I spent my childhood making snow forts in my back yard, playing make believe “house” and spending most of our time getting into harmless trouble, the next generation will be consumed with cell phones, iPads, and television from the beginning of their lives. While at a restaurant, I saw two children (about three or four years old) watching Curious George on their parents' cell phones because it was the only way they would settle down during dinner. The other day, I saw a mother take her phone away from her two-year-old, and after doing so, the kid threw a temper tantrum until her mother gave the phone back.

The next generation will never know what it feels like to have to call their crush's house phone and pray that their parents wouldn’t answer, or physically go over to their friends house and knock on their door to see if they want to play. Instead, they'll just send them a text or an instant message.

Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone as much as the next guy, but immersing children in technology so young promotes a loss of a connection with nature and other surroundings. They'll lose the experience of growing up how a child should. It's sad adults are completely submerged in their cell phone while at dinner instead of talking to each other. Look around while waiting for class to start and I bet you that 95 percent of students are on their cell phones. We live in a time where being "Insta" famous is more important than actual relationships, and how many likes or favorites you get corresponds with your self-worth.

I feel bad for the upcoming generations because cell phones and computer screens are all they're going to know. Children are going to grow up to be mindless drones controlled by a small computer screen, and we are to blame for it.