Due to technology, social skills have deteriorated

As a 7-year old kid, my most prized possession was my toy basketball court. My 7-year old cousin’s most prized possession is her new Samsung tablet. My childhood consisted of playing sports and going outside with my older brother. Rarely did I touch video games until I reached middle school. Now, most children at age 7 have smarter and bigger phones than I do.

Oh how the times have changed.

Who is to blame for this technology boom. Is it Apple? Is it Samsung? Or is it the fact that we must keep up in order to not fall behind. But, us as a society can change the mindset of many people.

We do not need to rely on technology to survive. Checking our Snapchat stories is not as important as taking an evening walk. Figuring out why this person unfollowed you on Instagram is not as important as playing a pickup game at the park. I might seem hypocritical as I write this article on my MacBook Air with my iPhone 6s sitting right beside me, but I wish times were different.

As technology grows, our youth becomes less and less social. There is no need to leave the house to interact with friends, when you can chat with them in a Playstation 4 party. There is no need to meetup for a project, when you can Skype with your group and finish in record time. There is no need to look for cassette tapes of your favorite classics, when they are all over Netflix.

Let’s face it. We are addicted to our little gadgets, and most of us can not live without them. Now, who can blame us. As times change and people evolve, we are forced to stay up to date to make sure we do not fall behind society.

But all I ask of you is simple, do not let technology rule your life. Instead of staying home and watching Netflix, take a walk. Instead of playing video games with friends, go play sports at the park with those same friends. Therefore, less and fewer people will be dependent on their technology and will become more socially active.