Thesis: Twenge affectively uses emotional appeals to persuade her readers into believing that the excessive use of smartphone has ruined a generation. (summary) In the article “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?”, Jean M. Twenge discusses the effects smartphones have in younger generations. Twenge is a psychologist who has been researching differences in generations for 25 years. In accordance to Twenge, smartphones have significantly increased the rates in teen depression and suicide. Twenge describes the generation iGen (born between 1995 and 2012) as being at the verge of the worst mental-health crisis in decades. Twenge’s research shows statistics of many factors that are affected by social media, smartphones, and the internet. …show more content…
Twenge uses this story to capture the reader’s attention and get to their emotional side strengthening her article. In the story, Twenge asks Athena what she likes to do with her friends, Athena’s response is that very unfrequently they go to the mall with her parents. Twenge recalled the times she would go out with her friends describing it as a form of freedom to escape from her parents. According to Twenge, Athena and her friends are more likely to communicate through social media than physically. Twenge states, “unlike the teens of my generation, who might have spent an evening tying up the family landline with gossip, they talk on Snapchat” (59). Here, Twenge emphasizes on the differences between generations. It is a strategy she uses to engage readers and evoke feelings of right and wrong. The use of an anecdote was not only at the begging, Twenge also closed her article the same way. The closing story is also about Athena, but this time it is about how Athena had an emotional outburst when her friend was not paying attention to her because she was on her smartphone. Once again, Twenge uses this story to manipulate readers and leaving them with mixed
As Twenge continues her argument she compares it back to her own experiences which ties up this argument in the successfulness of it. She uses these comparisons to help emphasize important parts of her argument. Beginning with “they think we like our phones more than we like actual people.” This state of unhappiness around teens forms her bigger argument that this is a main reason smartphones have destroyed a generation, “It was exactly the moment where the proportion of Americans who owned a smartphone surpassed 50%”. The owning of smartphones “placed in the young people’s hands are having profound effect on their lives -- and making them seriously unhappy.” Their social interactions decrease and their screen time increases as the years go
She has a Ph.D. in psychology which helps her establish Ethos. Twenge then collects data and performs interviews in order to form logos. She then appeals to human emotions by explaining how smartphones can drive families apart and cause mental illness in teenagers. Although Twenge conveyed her purpose the wording of the title may cause offense to readers who are members of iGen. Smartphones did not destroy a generation, it only weakened some of the generations mental health. Twenge’s article can possibly persuade readers to start using their phones
When it comes to the topic of technological advances, most of us agree that they are beneficial to humans. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether or not Generation Z is at risk. Whereas, some are convinced that we have become cyborgs and are enslaved to devices that lie in our pockets. Others however, maintain that it can be both beneficial and detrimental. In “We Are All Cyborgs Now,” Amber Case argues that, although there are challenges with online socialization, being able to connect online helps to humanize us in new ways. In “Generation Z: online and at risk” Nicholas Kardaras disagrees, asserting that people with addictive personalities, particularly young people, are risking their mental health by favoring their online connections over their ordinary ones.
Using an arrogant tone and harsh claims, Albom criticizes young smartphone users as unsociable, lazy, or ridiculous, due to way they use their phones for games and taking exposing photos. Making heavy use of allusions and anecdotes, Albom appeals towards pathos and ethos in a way to gain support from his audience. Albom’s readers are described as middle aged, and are “travelers, entertainers, involved in cultural and social/civic activities and are retail purchasers,” so his claims will be heard by the same people seen driving pricey cars and have a hobby of going shopping (USA Today, 2007). Albom’s use of pathos is overloaded with his opinions and emotions spread throughout the article, but there is little use of ethos, to back up his credibility on his claims. Throughout the article his credibility is damaged by the strong use of emotion over the chance to prove his arguments with logic, which will catch the attention of readers who closely consider his points. With his choice of words, disapproving tone that ridicules the younger generation; heavy use of opinion with snarky allusions and anecdotes; and little logic to back up his evidence, the argument presented is ineffective, and does not approach the audience
A recent outbreak in teen texting is taking a toll on their daily lives. Many teenagers have cell phones. Their parents get them phones for their safety and well-being, but is that what teens really use them for? I for one know that I rarely call my parents or use my phone for important reasons. Most of the time, I’m scrolling through Instagram and snapchat, to keep up with everyone that I will see in less than a day. The editorial from The Jersey Journal, called Teens are going to extremes with texting, informs the common people of the statistics of teen texting. The editorials main argument is communicating the excessiveness of teen texting. The author develops this point through expert uses of word choice, but also extreme examples and statistics.
Technology has always been at the forefront of the world’s mind, for as long as anyone can remember. The idea of “advancing” has been a consistent goal among developers. However, recently the invention of smartphones broke out into the world of technology, causing millions of people to become encapsulated in a world of knowledge at their fingertips. Jean Twenge elaborates on the impacts of the smartphone on the younger generation in her article “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?” Twenge’s article is just a sliver of the analysis that she presents in her book “IGen.” Twenge, a professor of psychology at San
The Social Construction of Technology (or SCOT) is a new research tradition rooted in the sociology of technology. SCOT provides a multi-directional model based on the property of interpretative flexibility, and emphasizes on social influences on the technology design and development. This paper will apply SCOT principles to explore the development of cell phone, define the development of cell phone into three different stages historically, and analyze the interpretative flexibility of the cell phone accordingly in the three different stages. Based on SCOT theory, this paper will discuss how the original huge cell phones are shaped and developed by social influences to the smartphones in today’s life.
Everyone has seen that kid with music blasting basting out of his purple ear-buds, girl texting on her phone, and the teen on their phone communicating with society. As a fellow teen, in my daily life, I use technology constantly. Either in school or outside of school. I feel teens rely on today’s technology to heavily that it may be having harmful affects on teens. The youth of today are constantly engaged in technological advancements. technology promote nonstop communication and instant gratification. whether through cell phones, gaming systems, laptops, or i pods. are these technological advancements a good thing? The growth of technology has negatively influenced the social interactions of today's youth because it isolates individuals from reality, hinders communication, and effects the teens learning ability.
From the perspective of adolescents and teenagers growing up in such a hyper-connected world, having a smartphone just seems like a necessity, something that all parents feel obliged to giving to their child at a young age, should they have to contact them in case of emergency. But when can an item such as a smartphone turn into a device that sucks away confidence, self pride and the overall well-being of a child? A device that is making a child fear when it should be used in order to help them feel safe. This is what can happen when you introduce social media to children who do understand how to fully use it safely; who don’t understand the implications and consequences that come with silly mistakes made through social media but also don’t
Cell phones have become a part of mainstream culture. Recently they have become more affordable and accomplish much more than making and receiving calls. Along with the growing popularity there is also growing concerns about safety and health. In this paper we will address cell phone history and how they have evolved. We will discuss health concerns such as tumors and talking while driving. Finally, we will talk about all of the technology that cell phones can accomplish such as receiving Email and buying stocks.
Technology has, since the primitive years, always been used to invent tools in order to solve problems. This would, in turn, simplify and make man’s life easier. Through advancements in the field, man has become more efficient on both the macro- and microscopic level. Anything nowadays can be attained with either the flip of a switch or a click of a mouse. One particular technology that came about in this time was the smartphone. Since 2008, the smartphone, a device that combines a normal cell phone with a computer, typically offering Internet access, data storage, e-mail capability, etc. all in your hand was deemed as ground-breaking technology and created one of the largest and most competitive market in terms of technology to date. Their increased popularity continued to grow and today, it is very hard to encounter someone without a smartphone. These devices allow people to disconnect from reality and grant them access to the world as a whole. People use these devices to manage their daily routine, dictating what they should do and when they should do it. The capabilities of this device had been unheard of before their time. However, is there more to this technology than what has been made aware to their owners? We have become overly obsessed with these devices that it has impacted our humanity – our interaction with others and society. Since its upbringing, the invention of the smartphone has come to negatively reinvent the way people go about their daily lives because we have become detached from society, let these smartphones govern our lives, and have become obsessed with these devices.
The year is 2014, the markets are changing constantly, and they always have to meet the needs of new consumers as well as old consumers. Mobile telephones have been in the retail and wholesale business for quite some time, and are only evolving from here on out. There are things that these cell phones can bring us that are major benefits in our everyday lives. Cell phones bring us maps, radios, address books, and even flashlights now. Cell phones have taken shape from a huge portable device to a more convenient thin device that can fit in your pocket. With time in any consumer market, the consumer adapts to the technology that makes their life easier. The constant innovation of cell phones has led us to smart phones, and these smart phones are capable of putting certain businesses out of the market. Businesses that engineered PDAs in the past were met with challenges because smart phones are able to match their productivity. Land lines have become useless since everyone can afford a mobile device now. Listening to music has also switched from a traditional CD Player/MP3 Player to an everyday smart phone.
Mobile phone is a device which allows its user to make and receive telephone calls to and from the public telephone network which includes other mobile phones and fixed line phones all around the world The use of cell phones has dramatically became a new age of convenience for billions of people around the world. Teenagers are the majority of mobile users in the world. Mobile phones have become one important part of a teenager's life. The usage of mobile phones has re-shaped, re-organized and altered several social facets of life (Ravidchandran, S. V., (2009)). When focusing on teenagers’ mobile phone usage, literature has provided evidence for both positive and negative effects of mobile phone on teenagers. In this high-tech world a mobile phone equips a teenager with all its needs.
Technology use was on the rise but has shown a significant increased rate in recent years. Technology was a beneficial tool that was used on a daily basis. Technology industries had developed many devices like computers, laptops, smartphones, iPods, and many other devices that made technology easier to access from anywhere and anytime. Technology expanded every day and the usage increased which had an effect on society especially targeting teens. Teens abused the use of technology that caused them to have serious problems mentally and physically. Teens mainly focused on technology use and caused a social disconnection from the real world. Technology use has a negative effect on teens by causing health problems and social disconnection.
Millennials these days are caught up with phones and social media accounts. Sinek observes that Millennials use social media to hide the fact that they are actually empty inside. He agrees that technology is very addicting and It makes them feel good. Sinek says, “An entire generation now has access to an addictive, numbing chemical called dopamine, through cellphones and social media, while they are going through the high stress of adolescence. “ (Sinek 2016) He makes it clear that Millennials aren't able to handle their feelings because instead of getting help from people, they turn to their technology. Millennials depend too much on their devices and always rely on them for almost every single