While comparing society thirty years ago to today, what is one thing you can noticeably point out that has changed? That maybe a trick question because nearly everything has changed in some shape or form. From small details such as the way someone wakes up or obtains the news, to larger aspects like traveling from place to place or receiving medical treatment; there is almost no correlation between the two generations. Just as the Industrial Revolution brought changes to the manufacturing and production of goods, the majority of society around the world has entered a new age – the Information Age. For the past twenty years or so, civilization has become acquainted with new digital inventions, creating more efficient ways to improve our daily lives. Doctors can accomplish surgeries that may have been unheard of thirty years ago, engineers can build structures that last years longer, farmers can grow healthier foods, and there are countless other technological advances. However, are all these rapid changes beneficial for society and its needs? There are many other alterations that these innovations are bringing, and not all of them are positive influences on the way we live. Children and adolescents are growing up in a society based around technology, making them more prone to mental and physical illness, as well as lacking the basic abilities to hold a conversation in person. Therefore, the advancement of technology and development of social media are negatively impacting our traditional style of communication as well as increasing the rate of mental health issues throughout society.

It must be added that technology and social media work hand in hand. Without inventions like the Internet, mobile phones, computers, and other devices that allow us to connect to the world digitally, there would be no social media. Now that technology has been integrated in every aspect of our daily lives, how much are people using it? Amanda Lenhart analyzes the social media websites that teenagers use, the amount of time they spend on them, and the different cultures and ethnicities that use them. Studying over a thousand teenagers between the ages of thirteen and seventeen for over a year, Lenhart found that 92% of teens used online media daily, while 24% of the group frequently used it. For the most used website, an astounding 71% were users on Facebook, and Instagram followed behind with 52%. Lenhart also found that on average teens used media in general (music, social media, online videos) nine hours daily (Lenhart). Nearly three quarters of the population used a social media website, and more than half used two websites (Facebook and Instagram), revealing that social media has clearly has been implemented in the youth’s lives.  

Now that it is known how much time children and adolescents are using new technology and social media, how much are adults using them? In an article by the Pew Research Center, data from a 2016 survey showed that 69% of adults use social media. Separated into age groups, the 18-29 group used social media the most with 86%. The age group with the lowest usage was the 65 and up group with 34%. Pew Research Center found that the older generations have a more difficult time adjusting to technology because they have lived the majority of their life without out it (Social Media Facts…). 

The data shows that children, adolescents, and young adults adapt the best to the quick technological changes compared to the older generations, but is that necessarily a good thing? Since society started adjusting to the digital innovations, there have been many side effects that questionably overpower the positives of the new inventions. Children growing up in the Digital Age are acclimated with social media and technology devices, but they are lacking social skills that allow them to have a conversation face-to-face. “Actual conversation is becoming a thing of the past,” stated Katherine Bindley the article, “When Children Text All Day, What Happens to Their Social Skills?” Bindley explains that although technology has mostly brought positive change to our world, the biggest concern is overusing it – exactly what teenagers are doing in the current generation. With an average use of nine hours per day, these children and adolescents are growing up without the experience of genuine conversations. When they are confronted in person, they experience a lot of trouble with awkward pauses in the conversation, and they cannot maintain eye contact. Developing these social cues is fairly vital in order to survive in this world, however the youth would rather pick up their phones and use them as a distraction to the conversation (Bindley). In the long run, researchers are concerned about this behavior, especially when they try to land jobs. It proves to be very hard for them to sit down in an interview and deal with awkward pauses, eye contact, and coming up with answers on the spot rather than having time to respond over text, email, and other digital communications. 

Those most concerned with this behavior are parents. While children spend hours of their day staring at screens to entertain themselves and connect with others online, parents are worried that they could be exposed to online media that will harm them at a young age. For example, “in a recent survey of 1000 parents of children between the ages of 10 and 14, 63% of parents reported being extremely concerned that their child may meet a stranger online, and one in three were extremely concerned that their child would be a victim of cyber bullying” (George). The notion remains true that children and teenagers are upsetting their parents by spending personal time away from the family and entertaining themselves. However, the biggest concern is that less tech-savvy parents cannot always supervise their children’s social media footprint. Parents lack the willing capacity to understand the power these handheld devices truly possess. 

As well as social skills, technology and social media are negatively impacting the mental health of the users. Physical health has been on a decline in the United States, so it is not shocking that these new technological devices are accelerating that decline. However, mental disorders have taken its own path and is dramatically rising throughout the world, especially in adolescents. Raw data is emerging from psychologists and researchers; much of that data shows that severe overuse and abuse of technology are impacting how our brains works socially, cognitively, and behaviorally. Mental disorders such as OCD, ADHD, anxiety, and depression are all on a rise within the teenage population, and evidence supports that it is a direct correlation to the rise in social media (Scott). 

Coined by Dr. Ivan Goldberg in 1995, the term Internet Addiction is the most supported reasoning behind the uprising of mental diseases. People of all ages who are addicted to their digital devices constantly check for updates, are always processing new media, in an attempt to stay connected to others through the usage of social media. Because of the fast-paced society today, users are prone to suffer from attention-deficit disorders, stress, anxiety, depression, and many more mental disorders. This, in turn, is leading to increased suicide rates among teenagers across the country. According to a report by the CDC, over the last fifteen years suicide rates have increased 24%. For females, it doubled from 2007 to 2015, rising from 2.4 to 5.1 deaths per 100,000 people. The rate among males is still the highest, rising 34% from 2007 to 2015 at 14.2 deaths per 100,000 people. In 2012, suicide was the second leading cause of death in adolescents ages 12-19, which accounted for more deaths than cancer, heart disease, influenza, pneumonia, HIV, stroke, and diabetes combined (Curtin). This statistic is unacceptable in our society and there needs to be a change to prevent the rise from continuing.

Another issue with health that correlates with the advancement of technology is lack of sleep. Although there are many health issues associated with technology, sleep is one of the biggest concerns because of the usage before bedtime. In a survey done by the National Sleep Foundation 95% of the participants surveyed admitted that they used a digital device before going to sleep (Annual Sleep in…). These devices are hurting our natural way of sleeping due to blue light emitted from the screens. The blue light is causing the delayed release of melatonin, the hormone that allows us to sleep, and is giving users a sense of alertness. Although the human body may be exhausted, the brain remains awake because of the use before bedtime. Also, with a delayed sleep schedule comes less restless eye movement sleep. REM sleep is when the body receives the most rest, recovers, retains information from the day before better, and where dreams occur. The more blue light the brain is exposed to, the less REM sleep it gets, and even after what seems like a goodnight sleep such as eight hours, the body and brain still feels tired in the morning (How Blue Light…).

In turn, sleep deprivation is creating many health problems especially in the adolescent age group. While some 20% of teenagers get five hours of sleep or less a night, each hour lost has been associated with a 38% increase in feelings of sadness and hopelessness. It is also affecting their ability to learn in the classroom – there is less emotional regulation through sleep, leading to higher stress levels, low performances with cognitive learning, and loss of memory retention. When talking about physical health, research has shown that adolescents with low hours of sleep are more prone to weight gain and type 1 diabetes (Gregoire). A study done by the National Sleep Foundation found that for the past twenty years, children between the ages of six and seventeen have increasingly been admitted to hospitals for obesity-related diseases. The rate of discharges in hospitals has also gone up 436% in the same review, and doctors have noticed this association (Obesity & Sleep). All the data and studies point in the same direction – the increase in technology use, especially before sleep, is leading to serious sleep deprivation among the American population. Because of this, the numbers of mental and physical diseases have also increased dramatically, depicting that the digital devices and usage of social media are negatively impacting our overall health. 

Many of these studies were based off population found in the United States, and after studies were completed in impoverished countries, it became clear that the advancement of technology is solely based on money. Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, a professor at a university in South Africa, has been studying sociology his entire professional career and the changes that occur in his community, as well as other parts of the world. In some of his recent research, he noticed that adolescents in South Africa are beginning to use cell phones. However, the cost of using a cell phone is rather expensive compared to the rest of the world, and Sooryamoorthy states that “students have managed in a planned manner to use the cell phone by effectively organizing the device for their voice call needs within their means” (Claster 100). Adolescents are beginning use cell phones in a country where more than half the population lives in poverty (Poverty on the…), presenting that the widespread usage of digital devices is impacting nearly the entire globe. However, because of the cost they do not excessively use them, or use them as a social status. It is possible that the advancement of technology is having negative impacts in the United States because of its accessibility to the public and the need for a social status.

Sooryamoorthy has also done a lot of research in other countries, specifically in Ireland and Finland. In these countries, technological devices with internet connection are almost equally as accessible as it is in the United States. Sooryamoothy noticed that teenagers take their usage for granted and use it as a social hierarchy. “Nearly two-thirds of our respondents… viewed the ownership of a cell phone as a symbol of social status” (Claster 100). The teenagers in these countries are creating the social consequences by keeping up with new digital devices and making their usage a social status. As previously stated, excessive use of technology and social media is leading to social disabilities as well health issues, and soon these effects will impact countries outside the United States. In order to stop these negative results from occurring, societies should broadly base technology usage like South Africa – make it less accessible to the public.

Most of the negative results from the advancement of technology and social media occur because of the need for a social status and to keep up-to-date with everyone else. It is a psychological effect – teenagers and young adults want to be “cool” with the newest gadgets, while others just want to be like everyone else. However, it is possible to avoid adjusting to the mainstream lifestyle of new devices day after day. Dr. Cal Newport, as associate professor in computer science at Georgetown University, has never touched social media in his life. In a TedxTalks video posted to Youtube, he states all the negative side effects of using social media, including sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, and stress. However, none of these outweigh the positives of the advancement of technology. The developments have severely improved our society, but he argues social media is something we should all quit. Newport is still up-to-date with news, watching TV, reading the newspaper, and he claims that since he has not touched social media his life is a lot less stressful and more peaceful than others who constantly check their phones for social media updates (Newport). Newport is a perfect example of a man who has not adjusted to societal norms, lives his own life without social media, yet is still a very successful man. 

With the advancement of technology and birth of social media working hand-in-hand, the extensive results of overusing digital devices have proven to have negative impacts on the lives of adolescents and young adults. Growing up in a fast-paced society with social media taking over children’s lives is hurting the natural way we communicate with one another. Rather than looking the other person in the eye and conversing, children and teenagers would rather look down at their phones and communicate through a screen. In the long run, researchers and parents are afraid it will hurt their ability to survive. Also, since technology became implemented in every aspect of our daily lives, mental health has started to decline. Adolescents are becoming more prone to anxiety, depression, ADHD, and stress, which in turn is impacting their schoolwork and leading to higher suicide rates. 

Another cause of mental and physical diseases is lack of sleep. Teenagers as well as young adults often use their phones before going to bed, and their brains are not getting enough rest. This is causing them to feel more stressed and anxious in school, and they are losing the ability to retain information. All the evidence shows that excessive usage of cell phones and social media is leading to a decline in the health of our well-beings. In order stop this decline, technology should not be so easily accessible to the public, and social media should not be used as a social status. Dr. Newport has never touched social media throughout his life. He believes the advancement of technology has severely improved our society, and is a very successful, healthy man. If the rest of society could follow after Dr. Newport and detach themselves from the unbearable weight and burden of social media, imagine all we could accomplish.
