Final Blog Post

    As someone who is apart of Generation Z, I grew up with technology all around me. As I have gotten older, new technologies pop up all around me. Personally, I think my generation has a horrible relationship with technology. The coming generations have it even worse. These days, parents often offer iPads to their children to occupy them. The children become attached to these things. You'll see them at a restaurant, in the mall, or at a park on their iPad. According to the parents, it is the only thing that keeps them sane and distracted. The problem with this is, the internet is billions of layers deep. These children may be getting exposed to things they are too young to view. Childhood is meant for innocent fun. There are so many predators out there trying to take advantage of kids because they are so young and in a vulnerable state. This is so easy to do because parents will often leave their children unsupervised with this technology. Who knows what websites these kids are accessing? Young children are communicating with predators and are being sent photos and videos that they should not be exposed to. This can cause later trauma in a child's life. The iPad kid generation is not even old enough to comprehend what has happened to them yet. Click HERE to read more about the negative impacts technology is having on children. It is so much more than just being exposed to inappropriate content. 

    Going back to my generation, Gen Z, our relationship with technology has never been worse. There are so many applications to keep us distracted and we take advantage of this. Sometimes, it feels like nobody is living in the moment. People are so much more absorbed it what other people are doing than actually living for themselves. You can't even go to dinner without looking around the table and seeing everyone on their phones. My generation is also the same generation that started the Cyberbullying phenomenon. I personally know several people that have been impacted by this. There was even a whole film called "Cyberbully" where the main character tries to take her own life due to the bullying on the internet she endured. (Read more about this movie HERE.) This movie is the sad truth of our generation. Some teens and kids take things too far, causing the victim to feel so down on themselves that they do not even want to live anymore. HERE is a research article on the statistics and correlation of cyberbullying and teen suicide. 

    There are several problems when it comes to our generation and our relationship with the internet. I just believe that cyberbullying is one of the biggest ones. Aside from that, there are tons of other problems. The addiction, the influences, they are huge. I fully believe that people can become addicted to their mobile devices. I am even a victim of this. I rely on my iPhone and I tend to lose my mind when it is not working. All of my friends are the same way. I would love to improve on this and become more content with not being on my phone 23 hours of the day. I think my generation and many others have things to improve on when it comes to technology, it is up to us to take the first steps.