Does technology make us more alone?

Technology and social media is making our teens even more antisocial. They spend more time on Instagram and Snapchat rather than playing a sport and being physically active.

The more time we spend on our phones the less social we are. Social skills such as communicating are vital for one’s life. Communication is one of the many skills needed in almost all kinds of working environments.

Nowadays most teens own some kind of phone such as Samsung or Apple. Instead of talking personally with someone you simply just send a text message. Most teens rather give each other a quick call rather than meeting up to see each other physically. Teenagers are in fact the ones that should be developing social and communicating skills which are emphasized in many future jobs and careers. Instead they spend more time texting and seeing what people post up on Snapchat instead of getting exercise and socializing openly with other people.

According to CNN, most teens spend an average of nine hours per day on their phones and social media. Experts from CNN research team say that an average teen checks their social media literally a 100 times per day. Teens spend more time on social media rather than exercising for a healthier life.

The fact that many teens say that social media is “socializing” is in fact incorrect. Posting stuff on Snapchat and Facebook is not the same as effective as communicating to other people verbally and physically. In deed communicating with other people verbally has been shown to be effective rather than sending a quick message. When one is texting not much expressions have to be used, meanwhile when one is talking to others personally such as gestures and  body movement is required which helps; the speaker in conveying ideas and opinions throughout an audience.

But what can we do about this? Is there no possible solution for this wide epidemic of “social media attraction” to get our teens to be more effective in communicating and developing social skills that are needed for their future lives and careers? The answer is yes, there is a solution to this.

What teens and parents can do is limit the time that their children use their smartphones for. Find ways to for them interact with other people and siblings, have interesting and effective talks with new people, be friendly and open-minded and be up to listening what other people have to say. Go outside and spend an afternoon playing a sport and exercising for a much healthier life. Spend sometimes outdoors with your friends playing and talking. These are some of the many solution for a better and more effective teen that will develop the skills needed in order to approach the real world.