An Era of Smart Phones and Dumb People
An Era of Smart Phones and Dumb People You spot them immediately. They’re gathered around the swing set Eke moths to an open flame; not talking, Just looking down at what’s In their small hands. There’s around four of them, appearing to be first graders or so, testing away twice as fast as you ever could, completely oblivious to everything around them. Pausing for a second, you stop to wonder, “Whatever happened to actually using the swing set? ” Technology is like a fine wine; as it matures and ages, it becomes better and better, making it appeal to large crowds of people.
Yet what happens If one has too much wine? They become drunk. Just like an alcoholic, the next generation appears as if they are addicted to this modern technology, and that is not be such a good thing as people think It Is. The kids seem to be gradually losing one of the most delicate and treasured things on this planet: human Interaction. For example, let me pose a simple question, when was the last time you have a game night with your family, or any other time that was solely devoted to your nearest and dearest? Some will answer years while others, mere days.
Twenty-first century based females tend to go to their own sections of the house with an electronic of their choice, whether that may be a Kindle, phone, Pod, Tablet, you name it, instead of hanging out with their family. Young children observe this and brand It as the norm. Well, why shouldn’t they? Aren’t we the ones at blame for this? The ones they look to in order to know how to interact, to act with others? Look at the older population, the elderly, in your community; they will smile at you through car windows while parked at red lights or ask you how you’re doing while o’er both standing In the grocery line at your local supermarket.
Sadly, this seems to be a rare thing to stumble across these days in all of us young people. Back when I was a kid, If I wanted to play a game I would go find my brother and we would have to make one up ourselves. That’s right; we had to use our imaginations, just like our dear friend Sponge taught us to. But now, with Inventions such as the Leaped and Manitoba, instead of making up their own games, children have the ability to download over three hundred and twenty-five APS with a push of a button.
Along with these APS, as if they weren’t already enough, the youngsters can record videos, take pictures with the two cameras available, listen to music, and access an internet made just for them. At their age, I had sidewalk chalk and a stinking Jump rope for crying out loud. Yet why would they choose such simple, ordinary things when they have hours of guaranteed entertainment right at their little fingertips, within those many APS? Snatching away. Ah yes, now I’ve remembered.
You know all those outdoor toy commercials that make kids want to explore the great outside? Me neither. Outside: The brilliant archenemy of the indoors. It’s a place to be loud, rambunctious, and least of all quiet. In a nutshell, it’s a child’s heaven on Earth, or should be. But instead of actually going outdoors to play, kids tend to stay inside claiming it’s too hot, too cold, too windy, too… Too anything really. So instead they sit on the couch watching mindless television shows while withering away into nothing more or less than lazy, couch potatoes.
If the patterns keep up we may eventually all turn into mild forms of the characters in the beloved movie Wall-E: grotesquely fat, genealogy obsessed humans, who don’t know how to live without an electronic in one hand and a remote in another. This sickens and saddens me all at once. Now, am I declaring that all technology is bad and it should be banished from Earth never to be spoken of or seen again? That we should Just absentmindedly convert back to the ways our ancestors and live without modern conveniences? Of course I’m not!
I’m merely asking you to take a step back and look at how much technology you use on a daily basis, even if it’s Just making a call on your cell phone r turning on the TV to unwind after a long day at work. I simply don’t want a world where the next generation becomes engulfed and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of technology being shoved down their throats as soon as they are able to walk and talk. The relationships we construct with others should be cherished and preserved by interacting with each other face-to-face every rather than Just testing each other. I’m asking you to get off the couch and be social.
Go to Struck with a few friends, go shopping with them, or maybe even volunteer and meet new people. Find the balance in your life; don’t let technology control it. The same goes for your children, sure you can give them a Nintendo or a Tablet, but remember to shoo them outside every once in a while to play. A child’s imagination or anyone’s really, can’t be replaced with APS and computers, it’s Just impossible. They can be compressed, though, if they don’t have a chance to grow. A close friend once told me, “We are living in the era of smart phones and dumb people,” and if you think about it enough, we are. We really, truly are.
