The Pros And Cons Of Boredom

It 's 2016. Large, clunky devices have been replaced with small handheld gadgets. No longer attached to a wall, phones have become wireless. Today 's world can be viewed from a TV screen or a laptop. Cell phones have the ability to do almost everything just by tapping it a few times. Unfortunately, these rapid developments has socially brought Americans back. People no longer need to think or meet up with others to communicate. People rely on different means of communication where one can sit and have endless conversation without moving their couch. America 's use of cell phones has slowed down adolescents and older cellphone users by creating a dependent addiction, over stimulating the mind, and making parents paranoid.
Apps. Useful icons …show more content…
Cell phones offer people television and games. If one is sitting at home, with nothing to do, one can pull out their phone and play. Boredom can easily be taken away by turning on a cell phone. People find themselves using small amounts of time to play games. America is "becoming a society that is ready to kill even a few second of boredom with the tap of a touchscreen." Daniel Gross from CNN conducts research and interviews people to answer his essential question: have smartphones killed boredom? A large percentage of phone users use their phone for "entertainment when they 're bored (Gross).” Those people become reliant on taking away their boredom. Some may become helpless with boredom, after being so reliant on their phones. The effects of being without one’s phone can "result in anxiety." (Gross), and the need to "reach for the phone...our omnipresent relief from [boredom]."(Gross). It 's possible that the reliance on cell phones for entertainments creates the fear of being bored. The idea of being alone, by oneself and with one’s own thoughts, without a cell phone to keep one’s company sounds horrifying. Boredom is "your brain telling you to do something" (Guzman 1). Naturally, cell phones are that "something to do." But really, boredom is not "time-wasting." It 's something that allows the mind to "recharge." Constantly using a phone will never let the mind rest or think, one’s brain becomes overworked. It 's over stimulated …show more content…
Teenagers are common users of smartphones, and teenagers are society’s more fret over generation. According to Pewinternet, "nearly three-quarters have or have access to a smartphone." 56% of teens "use than one social network site." It should be no surprise that parents are scared of smartphones. But this fear may be irrational. The internet is now a "lightning rod for parental anxiety" says Rahul Parikh. Parents have come to the conclusion that smartphones bring danger and bullying. Only a small percentage of teens "have sent sexually explicit messages or images on their cell phones" and "20 percent of youth" done or have experienced cyberbullying. Cyber bullying is an issue, but the number is still small. One the statistic of sexual activity online, people can argue that "1 in every 7 young people has been sexually solicited online." Further researchers show most of those sexual exchanges happen between teenagers, so sexual predation isn 't something over-worry about. Parents continue to worry that teenagers will not socialize and focus on social media. They believe cell phones have kept adolescents from socializing. But according to data on Pew Surveys "kids who text the most also socialize the most," they have multiple people to talk and text to. A Microsoft research Danah Boyd has interviewed teens about their online activity and why they use it so often. She says “Teens aren’t addicted to social