Teens and Technology #thestruggleisreal

If you’re anything like me, you probably wake up in the morning to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter (and more) notifications. With so much pointless information being thrown at teens in the information age, the only thing that’s real is the struggle to keep up with it all.

Technology is supposed to make it faster and easier for us to complete our everyday tasks, but it still seems like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. The funny thing I’ve noticed, when I’ve analyzed my own behavior, is that I complain about not having enough time and then commence to scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed. The truth is that technology sucks us in - there’s always another video to watch and picture to like. But think about how much more productive we could be if we weren’t tied at the hip to our smartphone.

I recently went on a cruise where I was unable to get cell reception and it was a very eye opening experience for me. At first I felt like I lost a literal part of myself; without my phone I couldn’t function. (Yes, it was that bad. No, I’m not proud of it.) However, as time went on I got used to living life free of all my social media accounts. Rather than worrying about the number of likes I would receive, I could just live my life and not care. I could spend meaningful time with my relatives and make lasting memories. Now that I’ve had a taste of that life, I don’t intend to recede back into my cocoon of filters, memes, and hashtags. You shouldn’t either.

I don’t recommend everyone should throw away all technology (because how else would you be able to read this?) However, if you are someone who feels dependent on their phone, then try to cut back. Make it a rule that you can only spend ten minutes on Facebook or maybe even delete your Snapchat for a little while. Give it some time and then you may discover that you actually have more time. Teens have taken over the technological world, just be careful not to let the world of technology take over you.