As technology has developed over the years, there have been multiple debates concerning the affect it is having on today’s youth. Smartphones (and their apps) one of the more recently developed and common devices, are particularly influential in this regard. With technology rapidly advancing and many of the consumers being young adults, it is necessary to analyze the impact technology is having on them.

Phone companies such as Apple and Android have taken the concept of a smartphone to a completely different level. Although many people would like to believe that these products only enhance life, there is evidence that they are having a negative impact, especially on teen users.

According to a website dedicated to improving the lives of children, smartphones are having a detrimental affect on the attention span of teens, with studies showing that “52 percent [of teens] said they had done some type of activity on their phone while driving. 21percent of fatal car accidents were caused by teens on their phones ” (commonsense.org).

   Additionally, according to Neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, there is “circumstantial evidence that links a sharp rise in diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and the associated three-fold increase in Ritalin prescriptions over the past years with the boom in handheld games [like those on smartphones] ” (dailymail.co.uk).

   Many students see the influence these phones are having on their peers and feel it could end up having a terrible result. Senior Bentzion Wollner said, “By allowing kids to have these phones, parents are allowing them to be cut off from society. Smartphones are a gateway to issues that will face today’s generation later on in life, like not being able to think for themselves because the phone does most of the work for them.” Some of Wollner’s friends who also do not own smartphones agreed that cell phones are meant for calling, and everything extra is simply a distraction.

According to Emory University Professor Mark Bauerlein, smartphones and the like are causing literacy problems in educational settings. He said, “Because today’s generation was exposed to technology since elementary school and communicating with text messages and Internet slang, teens and young adults are losing narrative skill needed as adults” (sliceofscifi.com).

Teacher John Middleton argued that these phones affect each student differently, and that some are capable of dealing with them responsibly, while others are not. However, when it comes to studies and statistics on these matters, students are all grouped collectively (commonsense.org).

Ultimately, each individual can form an opinion, but it is obvious that these phones are doing more harm than good. Although people tend to overlook it, what is happening to adolescents because of smartphones is undeniable. And it’s not a pretty picture.