Who is at fault for the iGeneration

We have all seen it. Everywhere we go we cannot seem to escape the masses of children stuck on their phones. One cannot enjoy a simple family dinner with an actual conversation. Somewhere along the way, we forgot how to live life without the need for a cellular device at hand. Such an issue makes the question emerge, who is to blame?

The simple answer is to blame those who have their faces to the screen: children, right? Yes, this is true and it is a problem. Parents claim that a phone can be used to access information and expand creativity.  Although this is true, it is simply not true that phones are usually used for such things. How many times have you seen a child using their phone to play chess, read the news, or learn the derivative of the Pythagorean theorem?

I, myself, can say that I don’t use my phone to learn new information or expand my knowledge on a certain subject. On the contrary, I spend my time on Youtube, playing games, listening to music, or checking social media accounts. It is quite easy to fall into a cycle of these things that ultimately change the purpose of phones. Research has simply confirmed the fact that phones are being used for something other than their intended purpose: communication.

Yet, is it the children’s fault? Is it possible that maybe the parents are to blame for this epidemic sweeping the nation? This issue does not correspond to one age group, although the term “screenager” would lead us to believe so. There are plenty of adults who also are addicted to their mobile devices. And parents are responsible for their children. This involves monitoring them on the internet, no matter how difficult it is. The difficulty of monitoring your child is not an excuse for not doing it. If it is such an issue, then the simple remedy is to rid ourselves of the mobile device. I understand the need to use phones as a communication tool, but the internet is not necessary.  A phone plan consists of calls, texts, and the internet. By allowing for only the use of calls, phones will become less addicting. Personally, my phone is quite useless without the internet service as I spend most of my time playing online games and scrolling through social media.

No matter whether the children or parents are at fault, it is definitely a problem. Time goes on and this generation will grow to be our future someday. As technology becomes more involved in our lives it is important to understand the effects on people. Innovation is great, so long as it does not harm the people or progress toward a better world.