By Michelle McCracken and Alexia Orosco, Editors
Whether it’s texting or making a phone call, sending an e-mail or Facebook chatting, teens and most adults can hardly go a day without communicating through technology. Almost everyone in today’s society relies on technology to communicate or get things done. Sophomore Tori Guyton, owner of an iPad, iMac, and an iPhone 4s, agrees that technology has made a big impact on her life.
“All the Apple products are so up-to-date and modern, you can do almost anything with an iPhone or an iPad,” Guyton said.
Generation Y, the generation born in the 1980’s and 1990’s, is the generation which is increasingly attached to digital and electronic technology.
“I can’t even remember what it was like without a phone with no internet,” Guyton said.
Depending on technology to perform a job, school tasks or to have a conversation with someone, people of Generation Y would rather communicate through text messaging or via e-mail rather than having a face-to-face conversation.
According to USA Today, in some ways technology is advancing, and in other ways, it’s hindering. Whether it’s smart phones or any other kind of portable technology, according to Teen Champion Mindset, technology enables learning anyplace and makes it easier for teachers to immerse with students.
Education companies have noticed the love for the convenience of technology Generation Y has, and many have put their textbooks online.
“[Technology] has improved a lot. Teachers put almost everything on the computer now, I don’t miss having to carry all my books home everyday,” Guyton said.
Most TV shows have moved much of their media consumption online, and two-thirds of people regularly watch TV online. Websites such as Hulu have made it easier to catch the last episode of popular shows.
With the evolution of smart phones, tablets, and desktop computers, TV’s have begun a steady decline in necessity. Smart phones contain processors that have the same computing power as most pre 2007 computers, and has the ability to access the world wide web from almost anywhere on the planet.
Research from Teen Champion Mindset shows that more than 89 percent of all children ages 5-17 use computers or other technology, for schoolwork, connecting with friends or family, or texting.
“If it weren’t for cell phones with internet and up-to-date computers, it would be so much harder to communicate and do homework.” Guyton said.
According to InformationWeek, people ages 18-26 are spending more time online, more time with social computing activities, and spending less time watching TV on an actual television than any other generation ever has.
Although some teens know right from wrong when using technology, a majority have become so roped into the social aspect and frequently get carried away, whether it’s texting too often or relying too much on technology as a part of their everyday life.
A study shows that 59 percent of teens visit Facebook during school hours. More than half of teens misuse social websites, and a study by McAfee shows that 70 percent of teens hide their online behavior from their parents. Whether it’s clearing the browser history or creating a fake profile of themselves, teen’s are getting away with a lot more than they did in 2010, where only about 45 percent of teens hid their online behavior from their parents.
According to TNW Social Media, 40 percent of all Facebook users visit Facebook at least 10 times a day. Others, such as senior Ryan Lawrence, have completely deleted their Facebook identity.
“I had [my Facebook account] for 3 years, I deleted it my junior year,” Lawrence said. “It causes too much drama and it’s a waste of time.”
According to USA Today, teens are writing more than ever in text messages or online, but it’s not the kind of writing skills needed as adults.
“I know someone who purchased an iPad for their 5 year old son,” senior Marshall Farthing said, “He doesn’t ever want to play with friends, and his social skills are poor. He’d rather play on his iPad all day and all he ever talks about is the games he has.”
Social networking, according to USA Today, gives teens the impression that they are “the center of the universe”, almost distorting young adults understanding of how the world works.
A study by UCLA disagrees with the assumption that technology is making Generation Y “dumber”. The study says that searching the Internet triggers parts of the brain that are in charge of decision-making and reasoning.
“Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help and improve brain function,” said Dr. Gary Small, a professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.
As the brain ages, many structural and functional changes occur, including loss of cell activity. Small said that participating in activities that engage the brain, such as using the Internet, may help preserve brain health.
“Our most striking finding was that Internet searching appears to engage a greater extent of neural circuitry that is not activated during reading, but only in those with prior Internet experience,” Small said.
Technology is increasing and becoming more and more of a necessity every single day. Communicating in the click of a button has become such an easy, normal concept for the people of Generation Y. With how quickly electronics are improving, from iPhones to iMacs, from face-to-face conversations to online chatting, and now being able to obtain nearly all school work from teachers online, there is no doubt that technology’s growth is stunting here.
“With the evolution of smart phones, tablets, and computers, [technology] has become an increasing necessity,” Farthing said. “Wearable computers will soon replace all cell phones and most desktop computers, and we will probably begin implanting cybernetics by 2020.”