Zoe D. Elston

New on DVD: Hawking, Ebert topics of new DVDs

First Posted: 1/27/2015 The amount of time people are on technical devices is ridiculous, and the age groups that own them are even worse.
People spend too much time on their phones, laptops and other devices to even notice events happening around them. Certain people walking around with cellphones will walk into things and not even listen to the person who&#8217;s talking to them. It needs to stop or we need to cut down on the amount of time we use all these electrical devices and actually take time to take in the environment around us.
As for age groups, at a certain age you should be allowed to use cellphones and devices like that. In my opinion, the age to be able to own a phone or some other technical machine should be set at 18. And a teenager under the age of 18 should be allowed one only for emergencies.
For teenagers, it distracts them from learning while they are in school. It also disrupts the learning process of other kids, because the teacher has to stop the lesson just to tell someone to put away their phone. Also, since most teenagers own a cellular phone, it makes some teachers believe that all kids own one, leaving some kids at a disadvantage. For example, when teachers ask for the class to take a picture of the homework, those kids with no phone will not be able to and then they don&#8217;t have the homework. Teenagers also will have less of a social life if they keep using phones nonstop, instead of going out and hanging out with friends.
Cellular devices and social networks cause problems with our society, including stress, cyber-bullying and sleep deprivation.
The stress comes from people trying to do work or homework but getting distracted by their phones; therefore, they&#8217;re not able to complete their work and have to rush to get it all done before the deadline. Cyber-bullying is a big problem in our society and causes tragedies to families. It makes kids feel worthless and like nobody cares, when there is someone who cares. Being on cellular devices can cause kids to be sleep-deprived because some will go nonstop through the night texting or calling their friends. When they lose sleep, that can cause them to be less productive throughout the next day.
So, cellular phones and other devices have a negative impact on our society. The problem with it will only get worse as we keep using them more and more. The negative impact could be resolved if we put restrictions on that kind of technology.
Nicole Van Kirk
Rice Township

Kids overdo cellphone use