The Digital Age and America's Youth

America has become obsessed with letting technology entertain us. For our youth, the implications of a growing dependency on laptops and smart phones can mean shorter attention spans and a decrease in face-to-face interaction.

The ability to access almost any information on a whim can be an amazing thing. Though, more time spent using our electronic devices equals less time spent socializing with others -- and the effects of spending less time with friends and family affects our children the most. Are smart phones doing more harm than good for our youth?

Now that most modern children can escape into the virtual worlds of their phones and avoid being  forced into awkward and spontaneous social situations, their social development is at a high risk of being stunted. Melissa Ortega, a child psychologist at the Child Mind Institute in New York, states, "They don't know how to handle conflict face to face because so many things happen through some sort of technology" (link). Ortega warns how as these children progress into high school, they will begin to use their phones and portable electronics as an "avoidance strategy".

I'm all for technology and progress, but I believe that we need to be careful as we assimilate ourselves and our children into this new highly technological, quickly changing culture.