How Does Technology Affect American Youth

As modern day Americans, we are in grave danger of losing our humanity to technology. Right now we are in the middle of a subtle social revolution due to the rapid emerging of technology. Very few people truly think about how drastic our society has changed in the past fifteen years, but these advancements have created a new social reality. Technology can be used to enhance our world and our minds, but most use it for the wrong reasons. We use it to satisfy singular, temporary desires and it makes us feel a false sense of independence. Instead it makes us dependent on the very devices that cripple us. It interferes with our socialization, creativity, and empathy among other things. In this day and age everyone is attached to his or her devices and coveting the next new advancement, but how do these technologies affect us as individuals and as a society? …show more content…
Everyone has seen the withdrawn teenager with music blasting from his or her earbuds, the one who cannot stop looking at a cell phone, or the one addicted to video games. The younger generation is almost always absorbed by technology, constant communication, and instant gratification brought on by devices. According to a survey done by the National Consumers League in 2010, 56 percent of children aged eight to twelve have their own cell phone. That number is guaranteed to have risen since the study was done. Nearly all of American youth uses cell phones, gaming systems, computers, and tablets to “stay connected” but in reality it can make them shy away from face-to-face interaction and withdraw from the real world. This is not the only way children are negatively affected by