Technology and Teens

Technology has begun to take over our lives within the last decade or two. Apple released their first version of the iPhone on January 9th, 2007 and since then they have released 29 new and upgraded versions of the iPhone. With these developed technologies comes concerns as well, especially when it comes to how they are affecting adolescents. A major concern that experts have expressed is that time spent on social media or using technology can directly be correlated with an increase in depression.

There are also some positives that come along with technology as well. Technology is great with helping adolescents learn and are great classroom tools. Improvements with multitasking and problem solving and decision making has been shown in adolescents through technology. In the end though the negatives simply outweigh the positives. Technology has allowed adolescents to create this idea of cyberbullying which may be even worse than bullying. Around 36% of teens feel that they have been cyberbullied in their lifetime. A more concerning statistic is that 87% of adolescents have seen cyberbullying occurring online.

One way to decrease the effects of technology on young adults is by placing a screen time limit on their device, this will only allow them to be on technology for a certain amount of time each day. Another option is by designating times/locations that are free of technology, this will encourage adolescents to try other activities and they may even go outside for a bit. The habits may be hard to break at first but it is not impossible.