The Social Differences Between Generation X And Mobile Phones

    (Introduction) “Put down the phone, turn off your the laptop, and do something-anything-that doesn’t involve a screen” (Twenge 63). It is astonishing the amount of time teens spend on phones. Jean Twenge discusses the effects smartphone usage has created among the younger and past generations in the article, “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation”. The purpose of Twenge’s article is to aware readers about the many consequences the smartphone usage has impacted generations.

“Put down the phone, turn off the laptop, and do something-anything-that doesn’t involve a screen” (Twenge 63). It is astonishing the amount of time teens spend on phones. Jean Twenge discusses the negative effects smartphone usage has created among the young and past generations in the article, “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation”. The purpose of Twenge’s article is to aware readers about the many issues the smartphone usage has created on generations. Twenge narrates different stories about young teen’s experiences with phones and social media. Twenge also provides readers with statistics and some studies of many effects caused by smartphones. Twenge gives emphasize to differences between generations. According to Twenge, today’s

adults have a cell phone, up from 69% in April 2012” (para 4). Millennials grew up with

In “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, Jean M. Twenge criticizes how smart phones have negatively transformed today´s post-millennial generation by putting them into a mental-health crisis. The author compares her generation when they were teenagers, with the kids of nowadays who spend most of their time in their phones instead of having social interaction. Twenge also states how this post-millennial generation tends to fall into depression, and homicidal rates have risen due to this technological impact. I believe that as the technology advances, the generations that come tend to go backwards in the way they behave in their everyday life.

In his article “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” Jean Twenge discusses the negative impact smartphones have had on post-millennials. He begins by describing the differences between this generation and the previous generation. Post-millennials have grown up with technology and handheld devices, they are less independent, they are working less, and their period of adolescence is increasing as they take longer to accept the responsibilities of being an adult. Because of these differences, Twenge contests that smartphones have had the largest impact on the post-millennial generation. Their obsession with phones changed the way they interact with the real world. Alarmingly, Twenge believes post-millennials are on the verge of a major mental

My grandson just looked at me with a bright, gleaming face and said, “Things have changed, it’s a cell phone world now, lit with luminous screens that are bright, loaded with memory not just for numbers but for games, cameras, the Internet,” he paused, “ nothing is the same.” I sat nodding as he continued to add more, “There are touch screens instead of slowpoke dials and tall, 24-hour towers,

This essay compares and contrasts the use of the mobile phone for Generation Z with the use of the telephone for the youth of the late Baby Boomers. It compares the behaviour, treatment of the elderly and communication skills of both generations in their use of the phone. The mobile phone has radically changed the experience of adolescence compared to previous generations (Chris, 2015). This report will examine the differences between Generation Z and the Baby Boomer use of the telephone and mobile phone. As part of this research Daryl Phillips was interviewed. He was born in 1963 in the last few years of the Baby Boomer generation. He had one telephone mounted on the wall of his parent’s kitchen, which he rarely ever used.

The exchanging of this information can be portrayed in many ways. Some examples would be speaking, signing, and even writing. A large problem we have today would be the differences in generations when speaking to one another. With each generation being up to thirty years apart, they will each have a different set of core values that they will have learned to follow throughout their lifetime. With the problem at hand, we are stuck figuring out for ourselves if the older generations should have to keep up with the new language or if younger generations should stop changing the old language. A way to solve this would be for both generations to make a compromise so that everyone can be happy.

Technology has advanced extremely over the years causing our life style to change drastically and head down a new path. With this technology, the cell phone was created and over the years has advanced itself. The cell phone has become a necessity to many. All ages use this mobile device for either personal or business uses. Higgins states that the amount of cell phones active has increased from “one billion in 2000 to 6 billion.” Although cell phones paly an important role in the lives of many, the negative possibilities could cause destruction to our society.

Jean M. Twenge believes that smartphones (and accompanying them, social media) are destroying a generation of teenagers called Generation Z, or the iGeneration (iGen for short). Although smartphones are making life in the twenty-first century very convenient, they introduce a variety of consequences resulting from excessive use. Sections of Twenge’s argument need to consider additional points of view, while other parts of her assertion are very accurate.

Cellular telephones today aren’t just a rich man’s object in California; they are a present under the Christmas tree for an eleven year old girl. Although technology allows us to be nowhere and everywhere at the same time, with great advances also comes great setbacks. Most people desire to achieve the American dream of a big house, big family, and a golden retriever sitting in the corner, but nothing in this dream requires a cell phone. Technology is taking real conversations and replacing them with a barrier of a screen. Generation Z has never seen a day without the existence of cell phones. This life changing invention is in fact doing more harm than good for families around the world. People are forgetting to unplug from the cyber world and focus on what is right in front of them. Families need to take a stand, and choose to unplug daily for the better of the family unit as a whole. It is easy to get caught up in the rush of current technology, but it is also easy to forget how to enjoy the simplicity of life without Twitter, Instagram, and iMessage.

The cause of teenagers being so heavily exposed to technology is due to its rapid advancement. And as a result, Eugenia Ives, a former student at Dominican University of California, gave them the nickname “digital natives.” Most teenagers, and adults, now have their phone with them all day, fearing they may miss an important text, phone call, or news. Consequently, the new social norm is for everyone to have their technology, whether it be a phone or tablet, on them at all times (George and Odgers). While technology is a marvelous tool to have, people must learn to take a step back from technology or it could have a negative effect on their lives.

Regardless of your age, gender or ethnicity, you are most probably in possession of a mobile phone. At least this is what has been claimed in a study made by the The World Bank where they declared that, "About three quarters of the developed world’s population have mobile phones.” However, this study merely represents the overall possession of mobile phones, without incisively delineating the dependence on these devices by the different age groups. A study shows that teenagers spend around seven hours a day consuming media by surfing the web and visiting social networking sites. The broadening development of smarter phones is allowing the population to center their media within one sole device, where it is now possible to carry out any task from your phone, whether it involves sending emails, reading a book, or playing a game.

Technology has made huge impact in how people are communicating, getting in touch with someone has never been easier before! All you do is write a quick text and press send, but the problem is when teens disconnect from their social media it is harder for them to be social face to face. Adults on the other hand use their cell phones a bit differently than teens. Studies have been made to compare how different age group use their precious cell phones that may or may not have changed their lives. Cell phones are very helpful because they make it much easier to get in touch with people and talk to them and without having to be with them at the time. But studies have shown that different age groups use their phones a bit differently. For example, a study done by the writer of Cell Phones are Changing Social Interaction, Deborah Forgays, and Jessie Schreiber compares how different age groups use their cellphones. In this study they found that the younger the person is the more text messages they send and receive in a day. “In the over 50 group,more than 80 percent send and receive fewer than 10 texts each day”Teens text and use social media much more and rely on it to contact friends. The study also showed that in 90% of all age groups made less than ten calls a day, so the only difference in age group is how muchthey receive and send text messages. But in the end, we all use our phones for the same reasons.

Mobile phones are increasingly taking a major role in the communication revolution and the use of the mobile phone is an immensely significant social and cultural phenomenon, hence over the years, the telephone has dramatically changed how people live their lives, see their world and communicate. As we read in Ferraro ( 2002: 29 ) “all cultures experience continual change”, however nowadays the process of a change is even more intensified, more dynamic and much quicker. A lot of that has to do with the development of mobile telephone technology.