Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?

Ben, Anna, Jack, Khloe and Caleb

What is this and why does it matter? ● Published in 2017 by Jean M. Twenge, the article examines the impact that smartphones have had

on our generation and how we communicate with each other

● Her stance is that smartphones have done more harm than good for our generation.

● “What’s at stake isn’t just how kids experience adolescence. The constant presence of

smartphones is likely to affect them well into adulthood.”

Key Terms and Phrases

● Depression (Used 13 times in the article)

● Undesired Independence

● “iGen teens”

● “Gen X”

Key conceptsIndependenceLazinessDepression

Rhetorical situationGenre- Informational article

Audience- Teens and parents of teens with smartphones

Purpose- To inform smartphone users of it’s effects on mental and physical health

Stance- The author was agreeing that smartphones have destroyed a generation

Medium/Design- An online article with short paragraphs the author used a lot of ghjhgjghghghjghj statistics and facts from research

What The Opposition Thinks ● Opposition: Teen suicide was far greater in the 1990’s, far before smartphones.

Response: Though this is true, the amount of people on antidepressants are four times the amount using them in the 1990’s.

● Opposition: Factors other than the use of smartphones could be causing sleep deprivation to rise.

Response: Although this could be the case, the blue light that radiate from a smartphone has been proven to disrupt sleeping patterns.

● Opposition: How can you say that smartphones are making kids feel more lonely when its show that kids who are more active on social media spend more time socializing with friends in real life.

Response: While this is true, kids who are highly social are prone to socialize in both ways, but kids that are not as social and only go on their phones have almost no socialization. So from a generational level more time on your phone relates to more loneliness.

Compare and Contrast

● comparison/”Is Google Making Us Stupid”

● Technology is affecting the new generations

● Slow to think and anti-social

Reading guide1. Genre:

Audience:

2. Do you believe that smartphones are the main cause for teenage depression based on this article. Why or why not

3. Are smartphones causing teens to be less independent or are the parents causing this change

4. Summarize the main points of the article

5. Do you believe smartphones have made you less independent or more?