When will society realize there's a problem? Today's culture revolves around technology and we are so overwhelmed and addicted to the static growth that society is being deprived mentally, socially, and opportunistically. Addiction is defined, as stated by Zorbaz, Demirtas, Ulas, and Kizildag, " as an unpreventable desire and wish" (489). This is how our society is viewing technology, they desire and love the feeling of holding their slender smart phone and feel incomplete without it. They would rather clinch to a game controller than hold their girlfriend's hand. I have a brother who for years didn't take school or our family seriously. In these years he was obsessed with video games online and through gaming stations. This was before our household had smart phones and they were less popular. There wasn't a minute of the day I didn't see him playing. In all, his life didn't turn out the best, he never wanted to go to school which lead to dropping out in the 11th grade and as the years went on, his attitude got worse and worse. It affects some of my core values, especially for my future of being a family person and making time for family and friends. Experiencing this at such a young age when phones weren't popular, it scared me to think of how it would have been if this had happened in 2006 rather than 2003, just a couple of years later. When smart phones, and games became even more popular to the generations growing up, such as myself. The people involved in this issue are families and young adults in a society where they grow up surrounded by technology so advanced parents from the baby boomer generation aren't even sure how to use it, which makes it uncontrollable at some point. According to Richard Freed, "In 2013, Internet Gaming Disorder was placed in U.S. psychiatry's chief guidebook, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), as a diagnosis that needs more research before it's fully accepted. However, the diagnosis is already recognized in China, South Korea, and Japan, and there is increasing concern it's afflicting many American children and teens"(Adult sleep needs"). Small steps can make a huge difference, such as waiting longer to give your child a phone, setting restrictions on when to use them, and creating apps where parents can control their use. These are all helpful solutions but I first want to show you how technology is in fact hurting generations to come by depriving them mentally, socially, and opportunistically. 

This generation is losing their mental awareness and capability to thrive as an individual. On average, according to WebMD, "An average adult needs between 7.5 and 8 hours of sleep per night"("Adult Sleep Needs" 1).  With all of the technology that is widely available, it is hard for young adults to get the right amount of sleep. Surrounding them at night is their HD TV, smart phone, and even probably some type of gaming device. Conrad, Kate, Verhoff, and Greene examined that  "over 87% of Americans use the Internet, with an additional 90% owning cellphones and 58% owning smartphones" (23).  With less than 6 hours of sleep people wake up in the morning with an "empty tank." Going to school with minimal to no sleep can be a huge determinate of the youths productivity during the day, and can allow for them to want to sleep all day, and not care. Peter Edwards explains deeper into the issue stating, "The hormones that regulate sleep patterns and wellbeing are disrupted by long hours of illumination from computer or television screens, and skills of coordination, such as the ability to catch a ball, estimate speeds and distances, use peripheral vision, hold a pen, and write properly, are being lost."(52). My first phone was a flip phone, I didn't get a smart phone until high school and I didn't get my flip phone until I was about thirteen years old, while todays generation of kids I babysit, get phones at the age of seven-ten years old. At that age kids should be outside playing not inside on the phone, because this is a stage in their life were they are able to learn how to take care of themselves mentally, which is being deprived through getting a phone at such an early age. Although there are some good uses of technology for kids, such as learning games and things that will help adolescents build memory. All being games that can be found through technology, but should be limited to less than 2 hours a day, with more time being spent interacting with other kids and playing outside in the fresh air. 

Sleep also goes along with other things such as attitude and behavioral issues. Attitude and behavioral problems are handled differently depending on how you grow up. Recently we had a guest speaker in my psychology class who came in and talked about growing up in Singapore. The way they are raised there is drastically different and kids there don't spend their extra time using phones, or watching TV. They are at after school tutoring or extra outside classes, such as piano, dance and higher math classes learning and gaining more knowledge. Parents raise their kids with high standards so that they can get in to the best schools possible and are able to thrive independently as an adult. It made me realize how different our two worlds were. We compare it to the U.S. where we are now one of the top countries for obesity and kids spend their days watching TV and playing video games. An article online by Richard Freed talks about an interview he did with a mother whose son was addicted to video games. Freed proclaims, "She had brought her 15-year-old son, Derek, to therapy because obsessive gaming had led this bright, once-loving boy to fail classes and turn venomous towards his parents." (Freed, 1). Melanie, the mother even stated with frustration, "I want my son back."  After reading this article, it very much, brought me back to the reason I am writing this, because of the story of my brother. To me these two young boys with so much potential went down hill. Of course, we cant blame just video games but to some extent there are some correlations and doctors Zorbaz, Demirtas, Ulas, and Kizildag, explain that "Addiction affects an individual's ability to function effectively in different areas of his/her life" (495). These doctors did studies, which correlated between school and family problems, and although it showed minimal correlation there was still evidence to show that addiction to technology can cause problems in school and with family. These different areas for the most part include, sleep, attitude and behavior. Society will behave how they wish but not getting enough sleep because you need to update your social media, check Instagram and stalk everyone's statuses on Facebook, is overwhelming. Your peers will have to deal with you the next day and your parents care enough to wake you up 10 times in the morning to go to school because they care about your future. Mentally, our brain is ready to take on any new and upcoming technology, but it needs some rest and needs society to take a break, In a journal titled, "technology addiction in adolescents," Vivek, and Kar support that "its abnormal excessive, unnecessary use lead to addiction and makes life more difficult (170).

"Media exposure has been shown to be a powerful determinant of social behavior" (Tobias, 499). Everyone loves their social lives, and couldn't live with out it, but what if one day we wake up and the way we talk to friends and family is by seeing them on a screen and never leaving our house. This could actually happen, if we keep heading in the direction we are. Today's society relies on dating apps and sites to meet new people including new friends. What happened to meeting people in public and hanging out then and there? Individuals are so wrapped up in their own world they aren't being true to their selves and are instead hiding behind phones and computer screens. The emotion is no longer there. Showing our feelings through text has also been a challenge. Alex Lickerman states that, "We write things like "LOL" and "LMAO" to describe our laugh, but they're are no real substitute for hearing people laugh, which has real power to lift our spirits when we're feeling low" ("effect of technology on relationships"). We say whatever comes to mind, and the other person were talking to could think a person is totally happy, and by hiding behind a text message could actually be crying. This is how we know people are getting too comfortable with talking to people behind a screen. When rather they should want to be with the person in real life, to share feelings together and laugh together. Doing this makes the moment more special rather than texting or chatting online. We can solve this problem by, in the future, getting rid of these dating sites and forcing people to meet others by going out and being social with the real world. 

As individuals, we sit there for multiple minutes thinking of the best reply, which makes a person not themselves. For instance I would much rather call someone and talk to him or her because I dislike the not knowing of texting. I feel as though Armstrong said it best, in an article from New York Amsterdam News stating, "Between IPods, cell phones, BlackBerrys and the numerous other wireless gadgets, people are becoming metaphorically dead and blind. They are tuning out the world around them and focusing merely on their own tiny existence" ("Technology Overload").  My mother always used to tell me about when she was a kid, that if she wanted to hangout with someone she would call and make a day and time, and that was it. They would show up to that place and hangout and there was no confusion. Today, we have trouble communicating without feeling awkward or shy. "This reduction of human relationships to a mouse click can even damage relationships and cause resentments that would not exist if people did not use such media as their main mode of interaction" (Edwards, 54). There then comes this idea of Catfishing. This is essentially when you meet someone online and when you finally meet them in person, they either don't actually exist or they're not who they said they were. Why, after this has happened to thousands of people do they still continue to do it? A question that will never be answered because individuals choose to hide themselves behind closed doors instead of going outside of their comfort zone. The Internet and gaming is also used to avoid confrontation. This leads to a lot of cyber bullying and makes it easier for kids to pick on others. People will say anything online without thinking but when flipped around would not say it in person. This is just another way society will hide behind a screen. If people could learn at a young age about technology and the pros and cons, kids would grow up better understanding technology and its appropriate uses.  

Opportunities come around once in a lifetime. Education, employment and growing up are three big factors in joining the adult world. You must be educated to get a job, weather that is from high school or going on to college. Eventually teens or even early twenty year olds will have to face reality and grow up and step in to the world on their own. With unemployment rates increasing Scanlan, Newton, Bundy and Mathews claim that with unemployment, "the most notable increases have been demonstrated in television watching and doing nothing in particular" (112). These people don't go looking for jobs they just sit at home. The people moving back home are usually, according to a Federal Reserve article, "Millennials who are overwhelmed with student debt, weak job prospects and an uncertain housing market are often moving back in with their parents or other family members." (Canon, Gascon). This in turn isn't always a bad thing, you're living for free and able to relax and not stress yourself out, but if you get back in to the comfort of living with your parents, you may never leave. People will spend more than half of their day online or playing video games and not even realize where the time went. There's a problem with the media overload and something should be done. 

With being or not being employed comes education first. Like I have stated, kids have failed or dropped out of high school due to being overly involved with technology. The key to all of this is managing your time. If I could give any advise to seniors in high school it would be to learn not to procrastinate, don't waste time browsing the Internet and keeping up with social media. I cant count the number of times I have picked being on Facebook over writing a paper or doing my math homework. This included writing and researching for this paper as well. I began to time myself when I would stop doing homework a couple of weeks ago and my hours totaled to be over 10 hours of procrastination where I would look on a social media account or watch Netflix. Last week I decided to manage my time better and only allow 1 hour total all day of sitting around doing absolutely nothing, and I actually got stuff done. No, it wasn't all schoolwork I did in my free time, but I went to the gym, the store, or got my to-do list done. I felt accomplished and from then on I have been carefully watching what I do. College is a very important time to not let the Internet and technology get to you. This is where you will get your degree to use the rest of your life, and the friends you will have around with you forever. Being consumed by technology will make it harder to focus on class and communicating with real life people. As I stated, opportunities only come around once, so individuals should make your life worth it and step away from the screen, and I promise it will be worth it. 

I come to you all with a challenge, that I feel everyone can better from, take a day or two or three and put your technology down. Focus on the people around you in real life, the problems in your real life, and realize how the overuse of technology cannot only better individuals but hurt individuals as well. You can research and learn more from technology and you can communicate with people near and far, but lets not take advantage of the privilege these technological advances have given us. Today's culture is revolved around technology and we are so overwhelmed and addicted to the static growth that society is being deprived mentally, socially, and opportunistically. Hopefully one day we can have a class for middle school children, to specifically learn about the dangers of technology and how to manage their time spent on it. Parents these days don't know as much as kids do about technology because they didn't have them when they were kids, so they would very much appreciate support of the schools to show their kids how to properly use the Internet and manage time wisely. If I were to have had this class, I probably would not be as obsessed with social media as I am now. I recently visited my mother in Kentucky, where there was no Wi-Fi and no cell service, and although it got quite boring at times, I was so thankful for the break I had from my phone for a whole week. Yes, the first day was hard, but it gets better. I encourage everyone to try this at least once after reading my points. Since then I have accidently left my phone in the car or in my dorm and have not even thought about it. It has made a positive impact on my life and I will continue to spare time away from technology for the sake of my dignity and wellbeing. I in turn hope you all can do the same thing. 

