Over the past fifteen years our world has been a part of a transformation unlike any other we have ever seen throughout the course of human history. A transformation that has revolutionized industries all over the globe, permanently changing the way our civilization evolves, communicates, and conducts business. From the humble beginning of the internet to the widespread global use of smart phones, technology has introduced more efficient alternatives to the traditional ways of life that we have known for generations. However while technology presents a wide range of benefits to the world, there are serious concerns that have yet to be explored that may prove to be detrimental to the everyday life that we are familiar with. Recognizing these issues is a decent first step but taking preventative action will be the difference maker in preserving the world we have come to value and cherish for the generations that will follow in out footsteps.

Social and physical interaction with one another is a large part of what makes us human. We are born, we learn to walk, we learn to speak, and then we become functioning individuals playing out our respective roles in life. Most of us have been fortunate enough to have been a part of the world that existed before the widespread use of technology began its seemingly uncontrollable take over. It is a world and a culture that still lives on today, but it lives in the shadow of a technological promise of a new way of life. We stand at a crossroads as a race because many people don't realize that we are passing through a threshold that no man has ever breached. We are the Guinee pigs of our own technological experiment, and unfortunately it seems that we may all be too busy staring down at our phone screens to truly understand how important our role is in deciding what kind of influence technology will have on our future. 

Of the 7.4 billion people on this planet approximately 26% of them are fifteen years old or younger. (Lunden, "Smartphone users Globally by 2020") Over a 5th of our population, 1,924,000,000 people will not know what it is like to live in a world where technology doesn't play a major role in everyday life. The problem lies not necessarily in the technology itself but in the hands of those who are deciding what to do with the technology. We have the opportunity to use technology to learn and enhance our lives but instead of putting that productive ideology on the front burner we allow technology to be used as a substitute for other things. Parents who don't have the time or energy to deal with their kids stick them in front of an iPad and call it an evening. Kids talk on smartphones and computers instead of hanging out in person. All things that seem so simple that have already shown the damage they can do to social relationships and the physical wellbeing of kids and adults alike. According to psychology today, the average kid in the United States of America spends a minimum of 7 hours in front of a screen each day (Dunkley, "Too Much Screen Time Damages the Brain")  further psychological studies showed that this kind of exposure can lead to structural and functional chances in the brain regions involving emotional processing, executive attention, decision making, and cognitive control. (Dunkley, "Too Much Screen Time Damages the Brain") Each one of those neurologic conditions can be directly tied to a person's ability to function socially. This is just one example of how technology on a small scale can do damage to a single individual, but unfortunately the damage technology can cause has a much larger influence than we would have hoped for.

The United States of America is estimated to have a population of 322,762,081 people by the end 2016 according to the U.S. Census (U.S. Population "2016.") If recent trends continue at the same rate then we can also expect to welcome a new born American citizen to the mix every 17 seconds as well (Shlesinger, "Size of the World in 2016.") We have a rapid growth rate here in the United States coupled with the massive technological craze taking place in the world, and the outcome of those two variables may not be able to be controlled. Just last year an estimated total of 94 million smartphones were being used in the United States alone (Reisinger, "Iphones in Use.") Those numbers are only expected to increase as time moves forward. A research firm called eMarketer estimates that 184.2 million people in the United States will own or regularly use IPhone by the end of 2016, approximately 57.6 percent of the U.S. population. Scary thing is that those numbers are only going to increase year after year. By 2018 it is estimated that those numbers will reach an astonishing 220 million that will be using iPhone every day (Reisinger, "Iphones in Use.")

It truly is remarkable that before June 29th of 2007 when apple released its first generation iPhone, not a single smartphone filled someone's pocket, hand, or purse. But now almost a decade later, smartphones have taken the eyes and ears of 2.6 billion people worldwide, including 70% of the U.S. population. Those numbers are expected to more than double over the next four years and as a collective population, we will see the ramifications first hand. Technology is sweeping through the streets nation by nation changing the social fabric that had previously been so tightly woven between people. Smartphones and thumbs replace dialogue between two individuals while screens and texts separate life from death out on the highways. The negative effects of technology are not simply psychological and systematic, they are tangible, they are real, and they are truly life changing.

Social interactions start at a very young age for most people. As Children we begin to develop a sense of self, we explore, we learn and we experience life. All characteristics of a normal childhood with healthy growth, but over the past decade bike rides and exploring with friends have been sidelined by iPad and smartphone screens. The future of our county is being jeopardized by our society's lack of awareness when it comes to technology. Technology can literally altar the wiring of an individual's brain. It changes the ability people have to remember information, the ability to think deeply and analyze, and can also lead to attention issues (DeLoatch, "The Four Negative Sides of Technology".) This is information that is available to the public and it is information that needs to be more widely sought after. Over exposure to technology can lead to obesity and can put privacy and safety at risk on top of numerous cognitive issues. So far we as a responsible populous have done nothing to prevent this plague from spreading. We are the test dummies for this way of life and we need to acknowledge the potential ramifications that come along with this modern age. Most of the policies that have been enacted are geared more towards protecting children from harmful content on the internet or some small unofficial service announcement on how to regulate your children's screen time. I don't believe that these programs are as effective as they should be. Good parenting towards this issue is a good start but there needs to be something more concrete, something that will not fail when parenting and other authoritative influence fails.

The main issue that technology threatens is the health both socially and physically of our future generations (the kids) their health and wellbeing is crucial to the survival of our great country and planet. I would propose a plan that would co-exist with technology and also treat and repair kids who have suffered at all from over exposure to technology. For kids who use smartphones and tablets I would work with people at different tech companies to develop software or applications that can be downloaded or installed onto devices. The goal of the software or application would be to control the amount of time spent on devices by kids. The parents program the device through this software or application so that it may allow the children to use the technology for a safe period of time of their choosing. Once the time has been chosen and programed, the device will run until the time has run out. The device will shut down and may only be re-activated by the parents. There is similar programs already available on televisions for parents to monitor what kinds of content can be seen and the same principles would apply to this technology as well. It would be a very good start in teaching kids to be responsible with technology and it would also teach kids how to manage their time. I have two younger brothers who have both grown up surrounded by technology and I have seen firsthand how technology can either enhance a child's life or how it can damage a child's life. The key is managing this technology and finding an efficient balance that will prevent damage and allow use and education.

On a larger scale I think policies such as mine could be promoted throughout the public school system to advertise this new parental technology. I have recently seen advertisements reaching out to parents urging them to monitor their children and I think more proactive measure need to be taken. These children need to be valued and once more time passes and people see the damage that can be caused I believe more preventative measures will be taken. As far as the adult population is concerned I think that there needs to be a larger overall sense of responsibility and an obligation that is made aware to everyone, that we need to play a larger role in controlling what will and what will not affect our culture and our way of life as a whole.

