Smart phones… too much of a good thing?
After accidentally dropping and breaking her iPhone, Janey Litvin from Seventeen Magazine did not immediately replace the luxurious item with a brand new phone. Instead, she decided to take a break from the stressful world of social media and replace it with a simple, stylish purple flip phone that cannot do much but text and call.
“Before that fateful day, I was totally addicted to my iPhone. It literally called to me,” Janey Letvin, 16 year old student, said in the magazine. “Being away from my iPhone only made more work for me when we’d reunite because then I’d have to answer EVERYTHING.”
I sometimes feel stressed when I’m not around my phone. It feels like I’m always missing something.
— Mae Harper, freshman
Students everywhere have the same problem as Litvin; addiction to smartphones and social media. Mae Harper, freshman, has had her iPhone for two years and it not only is used as a basis for Instagram and Twitter, but it helps her a lot with her homework and her everyday routine.
“I usually use my phone for three hours a day. It is a good source for a calculator and it helps me study different subjects,” Harper said.
Like Litvin, social media and texting makes students feel pressured to always check their phone and notifications. In most cases, being away from a phone causes people to feel secluded from their texting group.
“I sometimes feel stressed when I’m not around my phone. It feels like I’m always missing something,” Harper said.
However, having social media can also be an advantage. When something important happens, it is posted within seconds. Finding out when an event happens can help people spread the word and get help quickly if it is needed. Harper said that she also learns from her phone.
“When I’m on Twitter, I always check the hashtags to see what is going on around the world. I can learn from other peoples cultures and values,” she said.
Litvin took matters lightly when she dropped and broke her phone and Harper thinks she too would do many things differently if she had a flip phone.
“If I had a flip phone I would not text as much. I would take some time off and enjoy the world around me,” she said.
Loading ...There are some students that do not have the luxury of even having a flip phone. This does not bother Safia Ali, freshman, who has lived without a phone for many years.
“Having a phone does not bother me,” she said. “There are other things I like to do like drawing that can occupy my time in a more creative way.”
Although she does not have something to keep her updated, Ali knows the good and the bad improvements about technology.
“I feel like the new types of technology are both beneficial and bad,” she said. “Phones can distract people from the outside world but it also makes things much easier.”
Technology has changed the way people go about their daily lives. Students are impacted by the things phones can do. The next time something happens to your technology, do not immediately fret over the little things. Take a minute to reflect upon the world. Take some time off from texting and social media. A little time off can radically change your perspective.
