Almost all stereotypes that adults hold over teenagers I disagree with, because I don’t think that stereotypes capture all of the population, just a small, yet influential group. But in the case of our technological craze, I without a doubt agree that our generation prizes our smartphones more than it should. I think that it has gotten to the point where we lack a sense of old–fashioned communication. We are incapable of asking each other out on dates in person, getting into arguments with people whom we dislike in person, and even making simple eye contact with one another. This is a severe problem in my eyes, because how can we expect to progress as a society is we cannot express ourselves in the real world and are stuck in the virtual world that is social media and texting? It seems that this situation is going to be a constant downwards spiral, because as technology advances, so will our love and addiction for it.

It is rather disgusting to me that we cannot function without technology anymore. We are so dependent on the simplicity of technology that we cannot even fathom that there is another way to do things. In fact, I’m typing this very column on a computer, as I check my Twitter and Instagram in between each sentence and occasionally glance up to see my family gathered around the TV, my brother in a trance on his smartphone as well. This is what I’m talking about. We’ve become desensitized to the lack of physical communication that it doesn’t even bother anyone in my family that we sit together in a room but rarely speak to each other. In fact, I don’t even think we notice. And I think that’s the most significant part. We don’t even notice.