Analysis: Has The Smartphone Destroyed A Generation?

Parents nowadays are concerned about their children spending too much time on social media. It's as if they can't live without it. There have been numerous studies based on citizens as a whole showing addiction to cell phones and social media. Imaging in today’s modern era has a powerful sense of propaganda to it. Which is why many teens and adults post on their Instagram and Twitter accounts. 300 photos are taken within the process and only 1 picture is worthy enough to get posted so many can comment and like it. In Jean M. Twenge’s article “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?”, she argues that people who use their smartphones and social media on a daily basis are damaging their mental health and social lives. Kate Murphy, the author …show more content…
Kate Murphy modernizes Twenge's points into today’s world of social media dominance in Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Furthermore, Murphy enriches Twenge’s points by introducing the addiction of selfie-takers and the harmful effects on today’s socially driven world. Above all, Murphy modernizes Twenge’s perspective that visual imaging (social media) will lead to detrimental effects on the viewer's health by noting that the overuse of social imaging shows a correlation to an addictive drug. Murphy starts off her article with a research saying people that take a lot of selfies “tend to have narcissistic, psychopathic and Machiavellian personality traits” (Murphy, para 5). She includes this at the start of her article and specifically states it is a research so she doesn't offend the people who take lots of selfies. This goes to show the readers how social media affects one's mental health and can make one be labeled as “crazy” in today's society. It correlates with Twenge’s point when talking about how regular social media users are putting their mental health at risk. “Rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed since 2011. It’s not an exaggeration to describe iGen as