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Cesar Duenas
Sue Briggs
English 2010
April 7, 2015
Use dont Abuse
Have you ever stopped your daily
routine to look around and think about how
much technology has made in impact in
society?

It has changed the way we do many

things, in some cases for the better and

others

for the worse. A few weeks ago as I sat in my music class, I took a glance up
and away from my laptop as one of my peers laughed at a funny joke my
professor had made. As I took a look around I noticed that in a classroom of
about 40 students, less than 10 were listening to our professor and actually
taking notes.

It was then when I realized how much of distraction

technology had become in our lives. The room varied in technology from
phones to tablets to laptops, but not a single person around me was using
them for notes or actual class related work. Instead students were browsing
Instagram, Facebook, playing games and doing anything to stay distracted
from the lecture. The worst thing of all was that the lecture was interesting
and had a lot of cool music examples. So I asked myself, why is it that we
have so much opportunity in front of us to learn, but instead we close
ourselves of technology? Technology is changing faster than we can keep up
with and it is causing our society to deal with problems we have not had to

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deal before, so we must recognize what has changed, we must stay

informed, and finally we must make decisions to fix the problems.
I got my first cell phone when I turned 13, back then that was about
the average age to get your first phone. Only seven years later my econ
professor talks about her 5th grade daughters school and how every single
student in her grade has a cell phone. Yes, every single one!! My next door
neighbors have smartphones at the ages of 6 and 7. Suddenly, cellphones
have become perceived as a need in our society. In an article written by
Mark Fischetti he says, Solitude is the precondition for having a
conversation with yourself. This capacity to be with yourself and discover
yourself is the bedrock of development (printed page 2). This is such an
important statement for parents to consider when buying phones for their
kids, but it also applies to anyone who has one. Turning to technology when
things get awkward or when we have nothing to do eliminates feelings that
we must learn to overcome. Depending on cellphones during those awkward
times is a coping mechanism that will eventually lead to social awkwardness.
Social awkwardness has always been around, but smartphones have
made it a bigger issue in the short time they has been around. If it has made
such a big impact in so little time, I dont want to imagine what our future
will look like if changes arent made. Parents might try to persuade people
that they buy their kids phones for emergencies or to contact them when
necessary, but cellphones have only been around for the last couple of
decades. Yes, most people alive today lived without instant communication

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with their parents. So, why is it that now its a necessity? Not having direct
communication

with

our

parents

actually

taught

many

of

us

time

management and many other skills as we were out playing with our friends.
Some people might debate that cellphones are a way to keep their kids safe,
but the opposite could also be debated as cellphones prevent kids from
learning some of the basic skills they need to develop in their youth. This
can be explained by something Fischetti says, Children are given technology
that removes solitude by giving them something externally distracting. That
makes it harder, ironically, to form true relationships (pp 2).

So no,

cellphones arent a necessity, they can actually cause more harm than help.
Moving on from kids to the changes technology has brought to adult
lives it is easy to see how the new technology has made improvements in
our daily lives.

Cell phones make communication instant, work easier to

manage, access of resources much easier and faster to find, and other
possibilities are endless. Technology truly has made our lives much easier,
but it has also brought many problems when we consider the distractions
that come along with it. These days it seems as if social media is the only
way to stay connected with friends and family.

Devon Bonady wrote an

article which talks about the difficulty of living a life without social media and
how she had struggled to have in person conversations because everyone
else is so infatuated with new technology (pp 1). Bonady quotes a teen she
met in college that said to her, If you dont have a cellphone you dont have
a social life (pp 2). She goes on talking about how tempted she has been to

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join social media, because she seems to have a hard time keeping up with
social events, but doesnt give in because she rather live in an in person
community (pp 2).

This example shows the importance of face to face

communication with those around us instead of exclusively relying on social

media for communication.
Apposite of Bonady, Toni Hart wrote an article about how Facebook is
stealing her life. Hart says, I was so busy with all my volunteer activities
plus book club, gals club, cooking, shopping, gym, etc, that I couldnt
imagine squeezing in time from my overbooked schedule. However one day
my daughter coaxed me into signing up and trying out this new crazy (pp
1).

Hart admits to getting addicted shortly after her daughter introduced

her to facebook and also talks about how much it took over her life. Her
case wasnt like others where she started in her down time or when she was
bored, she actually got addicted while living a highly interactive life. Social
media has made big impact in Devon Bonady and Devon Harts lives. Their
stories are opposite cases that result in different problems having to do with
social media, but both demonstrate different ways social media has recently
impacted society.
Harts story is relatable to many people as they live busy lives, but
dont let that keep them from getting drawn into social media.

People

without social media are the minority. Social media is nearly impossible to
avoid for those who want to stay connected with all the new hypes,
controversies and more. Part of the reason it is so intriguing is that social

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media is so customizable and all the control is in our hands. Everything on

our accounts are things that interest us.

As we no longer have to deal with

things that dont relate to us and solely have all of our interests within a
small device that we carry around, it causes us to keep checking our phones
for new videos and status updates. Thats where addiction comes in. We
begin to care more about what someone posted on Facebook than the people
we could be having face to face communications with.
Possibly the biggest controversy that comes with cellphone addiction is
the way it keeps people from communicating with the people around them
and acknowledging their surroundings. Turkle says, I do some of my field
work at stop signs, and at checkout lines at supermarkets. Give people a
second, and theyre doing something on their phones (pp 2). This we can
all relate to from being in class to eating dinner at a restaurant. If you go to
any public place it is easy to pick out the people who depend on their
phones.

The need to check social media spreads from home to school then

even to work because people feel the need to keep up to date with
everything going on.
Managers and stores enforce cellphones rules in order to keep
productivity high. Some people may think that a peak at their phone may be
harmless every 30 minutes, but in all reality it takes their minds away from
the task they should be accomplishing. Bonady talks about how instead of
thinking about ways to get more done or ways to prepare for the next step at
work, people are more focused on their next tweet or Facebook status they

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will post (pp 2). This is why social media isnt only a distraction while youre
using it, but also while youre not.
Not only is social medial media distracting, but it has also changed the
way we go about many things in our lives. Instead of walking up to a pretty
girl and asking for her number we now meet through social media or dating
sites. At my age it is a common topic and many of my friends talk about
pros and cons about online dating, but the conversations seem to always
lead to the problem with fake people. This doesnt only happen on dating
sites, but all over social media. Turkle describes Mark Zuckelbergs Facebook
fantasy as everybody looking like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, living in
beautiful homes, and only presenting what we want (pp 4).

He says, A

woman posts a photo of herself and then works on the color and background
and lighting. Why? Because she wants it a certain way. Weve never before
been able to have it the way we wanted and now we can. People love that
(pp 4). Because we can now edit pictures and control our image on social
media, it is easy to portray an image that doesnt necessarily represents who
we really are, but who we would like to be. This is a problem that causes
controversy on whether or not you can rely on what people present
themselves as. It is giving many people the idea that their image is all that
matters. That is why implementing that meeting people face to face, having
a conversation and spending time with them is the best way to get to know
people. Judgement off of a profile isnt fair and shouldnt be done, but that
begins when people change their profiles from who they are to who they

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want to be. For those who dont like being criticized for their profiles, they
should simply not portray themselves as someone theyre not.
Judgement

and

criticism

on

social

media

or

in

other

words

cyberbullying has become a big problem since social media began. Talking
to a friend who was bullied he explained how words are much more hurtful
than physical abuse because it stays with victims forever, especially when it
is out there for everyone to see (on social media). Part of the problem that
causes this is that people dont understand that once something is posted it
is nearly impossible to undo. Peter Schmidt talks about a new social media
site that has grown on college campuses called yik yak. Schmidt describes
yik yak as, a smartphone application that lets people anonymously post
brief remarks on virtual bulletin boards. Yik yak has caused controversies on
campuses across the globe (pp 1). Schmidt describes a specific incident
that occurred at the University of Michigan when students began to post
threats and racial slurs about their professor (pp 1). The professor found out
and was deeply offended and felt threatened by the posts the students had
posted about her. Schmidt says, Instructors who once felt in charge of their
classrooms can suddenly find themselves at students mercy (pp 2). The
cyberbullying problem is not only a school problem anymore, but its a
problem with people of all ages as they get bullied online. This brings up the
topic of people saying things online that they wouldnt say in person. The
answer to this seems simple.

Dont say or do anything online that you

wouldnt do or say in person, but for many people the online world is a

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different place. This idea of online being separate from the real world isnt
true and can be fixed by informing people that insults hurt the same in
person as they do online.
Many of the problems new technology has brought are new to
humanity and the best ways to fix them is by informing the people of ways to
avoid those problems.

There are different ways this can be done.

The

government can play a big role in informing through commercials, schools,

work and education. The ways to keep the community informed are endless,
all it takes is for them to realize how beneficial it would be. Other ways to
help prevent problems such as cyberbullying and cellphone abuse during
school or work hours would be to implement punishments at schools and
companies for those who are abusing the technology instead of using it for
good. This could be implemented by making precise codes or rules that can
lead to punishments when necessary to prevent problems or distractions
from occurring.

The next step is for people to do their part and be

responsible for their actions.

small portions.

Like everything else, it is only healthy with

The government, schools, and the workplace can do

everything possible to inform people, but in the end it is the people who
make the final decision on whether or not they will consider making a
change. It is important that people know that our future is in our own hands
and society will go in the direction we take it. One last thing to remember
with technology, use it dont abuse it!!

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Work Cited
Bonady, Devon. "Social Media Or Social Isolation? Or Is There A Third Way?."
Communities 165 (2014): 44-45. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Apr.
2015.
Fischetti, Mark. "The Networked Primate." Scientific American 311.3 (2014):
82-85. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.
Hart, Toni. "HelpFacebook Is Stealing My Life." Lesbian News 36.3 (2010):
48. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.
Schmidt, Peter. "A New Faculty Challenge: Fending Off Abuse On Yik Yak."
Chronicle Of Higher Education 61.21 (2015): 13. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.