Write An Essay On Screen Time

In her article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, Jean Twenge discusses how the new generation of teenagers are becoming highly dependent on their smartphones and need them alongside them at any given point in time. Twenge calls this new generation born between the late 1990s and early teens “iGen” after a recent survey found that majority of teenagers owned an iPhone. She argues that with every new generation, new habits form, both good and bad. The technological developments that have occurred in the last ten years Twenge argues are not a bad thing, it is how the “iGen” teenagers are becoming reliant on their phones and using them to avoid social interactions. They would choose to stay home alone in their rooms and talk to their friends virtually on social media versus actually leaving the house and doing something face-to-face with their friends. Twenge argues that if teenagers decide to leave the house, phones still have a strong presence, often not leaving the hands of its owner for longer than a couple minutes with social media like Snapchat and Instagram tagging along. Twenge worries that the strong dependency on smartphones and increasing rates of obsession with social media are a couple of the largest contributors to the rise of depression and suicide among the teenagers of “iGen”.

According to Twenge, the number of teens that go out with their friends has decreased by 40 percent compared to earlier generations. Twenge compares iGens to different generations such as Gen X (born between 1965 and early 1984), baby boomers (1946-1964) and Millennials (born around 1982-2002). Twenge emphasizes on the time teenagers spend on their phones. Social media plays a huge role in this. In accordance to Twenge, different forms of social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are what teenagers spend more time on. According to Twenge, the more time teens spend on smartphones the greater they are at risk for suicide, depression, and loneliness. Twenge also explains how teens are not receiving an adequate amount of sleep, many teens now sleep less than seven hours. Twenge concludes the article by sharing her own experience with her children and technology, she recommends parents to limit the time their children spend on phones. (59-65)

(SIP-A) The Internet and screen time, the virtual gateway to everything in the world, can affect your mind’s ability to store memory. (STEWE-1) Researcher Daniel Wegner found that “when people have access to search engines, they remember fewer facts and less information because they know they can rely on “search” as a readily available shortcut”(Wegner). This is exactly what happens in the book, people rely too much on technology and they end up having difficulty holding onto information. (STEWE-2) “Students who have trouble remembering distinct facts, for example, may struggle to employ those facts in critical thinking”(Wegner). Because we rely on the technology, it’s basically become our “digital brain”. It holds all our information so we don't have to, leading to a lack of holding onto information because of technology. (SIP-B) Looking at screens constantly can cause severe or irreversible damage to the body. (STEWE-1) Based on an article, “too much time in front of TV and computer screens is causing increasing psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety”(the guardian). These are direct effects from too much technology. (STEWE-2) “The effects, particularly on mental health, were most pronounced for those children who spent more than four hours a day using some sort of screen-based technology”(the guardian). Mental damage can overtime be healed but if the brain is damaged to a certain extent, then the damage will be irreversible. This is caused when someone stares at a screen for long periods of time or is actively engaging in what is appearing on their

Being tethered to a phone, as opposed to simply having and using one, has become the norm and does more harm than good at times. People, especially teenagers, cannot seem to put the phones down. Some even admit to being addicted to their smart phones and experience anxiety when they are without it. According to Ellen Gibson, author of “Sleep with Your iPhone? You're Not Alone”, more than thirty-five percent of adults in the U.S. have a smart phone; two thirds of those people actually sleep with their phone due to the anxiety they feel from the thought of missing something such as a text, phone call, email, or social media posting. Gibson states “…being away from their phone will almost certainly cause separation anxiety… some people have become so dependent on being able to use their smartphones to go online anytime, anywhere, that without that access, they ‘can no longer handle their daily routine’”. To some, being addicted to a phone is like being addicted to a drug; there is a strong dependency that makes it hard to focus or concentrate on anything else. After speaking with a group of students from Cranston High School in Connecticut, Turkle says “These young people live in a state of waiting for connection. And they are willing to take risks, to put themselves on the line. Several admit that tethered to their phones, they get into accidents when walking” (236). This is an issue that will

The number of hours children spend on their electronics has been controversial throughout history. Some parents believe the limitation of screen time is necessary, while others infer it has no effect at all. Yolanda Reid Chassiakos, lead author of the "Children and Adolescents and Digital Media Technical Report" and assistant professor at UCLA stated in an article by Hailey Middlebrook for CNN (2016), "It doesn't make sense to make a blanket statement [of two hours] of screen time anymore.” Parents should restrict unlimited screen because exorbitant amounts have the potential to cause physical, mental, and social problems for the child.

Technology has been part of our daily live more frequently than before. Screen time has been more popularly used on kids and adolescents. On a daily bases many kids seem to spend more time inside on their tablets, instead of having to spend time with other kids. This is a problem that is becoming more popular over the years,on whether kids need to spend that much time on technology or not. Parents either seem to have strict technology usage, or they either don’t. There has always been a huge controversy with experts, who either think that screen time is beneficial or could cause problems later on in life. There are many views towards this topic, from hurting kids brains, to helping them during school, and socially.

Increasingly, there is a large dependence on technology today as opposed to ten or twenty years ago. Technology has changed a lot of how life is lived today. It affects shopping, job seeking employment opportunities, entertainment and academics. There is no doubt that technology has set its foundation and is here to stay. One area in which the effects of technology can be clearly noted is in the lifestyle of children. The addiction to technology by children today has increased over the years. This is clearly seen in the developmental progress of children today. This dependence has greatly influenced how children

The invention of the smartphone has drastically changed every part of a teenager’s life, from their social life to their mental health. These shifts have hurt young people in every part of the nation and in every family dynamic. From the decline of social interaction with their peers, to an increase of mental illnesses such as depression, the use of cell phones have lead to the correlation between these epidemics. There are some positives to this situation; teens nowadays are safer and don’t go out as much, and more teens are having less sex, thus leading to lower teen pregnancy rates. In the article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation,” Jean M. Twenge effectively argues that smartphones have had a negative impact on teen’s social lives by making them more prone to being antisocial; however, she is incorrect when she argues that smartphones have a negative impact on mental health and independency because correlation does not equal causation.

Statistics show that screen time negatively affects children’s learning abilities and development. “The effects of so much screen time can include speech delays, aggressive behavior and obesity.” (Lavey) Since parents play a role in how much television their kids can watch, they can minimize the chances of their brains not developing correctly. “The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.” (Kids Health) Children do

“Growing Up Tethered” by Sherry Turkle she mentions very important point on how kids are trapped behind the technology. Intense use of technology nowadays has become huge problem for childrens because they are spending more time on their electronic devices and games. It’s important to notice that once somebody starts getting more in this technologies they will never know when their fun turned into addiction. This children's excessive use of cell phones and social networking make it hard for them to survive in future. It’s important for kids to spend some time with their family, friends, or go outside and do some activity rather than continuously staring at computer screen. Kids need to keep the brain more active and try not to spend more on

This paper explores the research findings on how screen time can effect children and their personalities and cognitive development. I have found four credible articles on these subjects from online sources and scholarly publications. These articles discuss the results of different studies about children’s exposure to television and online content and how they have negative effects on the developing child’s brain in terms of cognitive development and personality traits.

Today’s technology has greatly impacted the young children’s everyday lives. Phones, tablets, and computers are all a form of technology that impact the way kids are influenced. Some children get phones or computers at young ages and it can cause kids to depend on it to entertain them. Eventually they will allow the technology to take over and have it become the form of communication between friend and family instead of face to face. As parents continue to buy their children new technology they don’t monitor the amount of time their children spend on the Internet. Technology is becoming more advanced overtime which causes children to become more attached and unable to function without it near by.

Over the years, technology has increased in usage within many ways and has caused successful changes in a person’s lively routine. However, technology has evolved since the very beginning which concern has grown over the negative effects of its excessive use. Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” addresses the tendency of technology to create a sort of mental laziness where people look for instant answers rather than thinking for themselves. Daphne Bavelier, C. Shawn Green, and Matthew W.G. Dye have written in “Children, Wired: For Better and for Worse” on the transient and persistent effects of technology on children, particularly in terms of media exposure of television, movies, and video games. Additionally, Matt Richtel, writer for The New York Times, states in “Attached to Technology and Paying a Price” that the tendency of the brain to respond to immediate stimuli has a negative impact on the average user, ranging from disinterest to daily tasks to the risky behavior of texting and driving. Ultimately, these three articles agree that regardless of potential conveniences of heavy technology use, the tradeoff is something to be strongly considered.

Technology and these devices are addictive. To tell parents and children that they should not limit themselves or their children on the amount of time they spend looking at screens is foolish, and sometimes it dooms

Another source of the overdependence of technology in children is school. At school, they are introduced to technology at a very young age, sometimes even in preschool. Children are introduced to calculators at a very young age, helping them with math problems they should be able to do in their heads. The teachers are encouraging it so the students don’t take the time to learn how to do it out and then struggle when they have no calculator. Also, children today are proven to have much worse handwriting than in the past. They are now expected to type English essays and in elementary school; many aren’t taught cursive but rather how to use computers. For example, in 2009, 97 percent of teachers had at least one computer in their room, and out of that, 93 percent of the computers were connected to the Internet (Gray, Thomas, Lewis). Intelligence is continuously decreasing due to all of the shortcuts children now are able to take advantage of. In some aspects, the advancements are really aiding students. They have almost any information they can imagine wherever they go, just by going to Google. Typing is neat and