Living Life Through a Lens
After reading Jeane Twenge’s, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation” short article and watching the unique film, Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, I find it imperative to share my personal experience of living in the “digital age” and compare it to those of my generation and previous generations.
Athena, a 13 year old girl from Houston, Texas, states, “I think we like our phones more than we like actual people” (The Atlantic). Although I am a 21 year old, slowly creeping away from my teenage years, I can empathize with Athena and her personal experiences in this technology-oriented world. Looking back on the past few years, I strongly believe that the most time spent with my friends was via phone or some other form of technology. Similarly, Athena keeps up with her friends via Snapchat, sending pictures and videos that slowly disappear, unless you screenshot and use them as black mail, of course.
Throughout this article, it is interesting that Twenge emphasizes shifts in teen’s behaviors and emotional states. After plenty of research, Twenge concludes, “the clearer it became that theirs (Athena’s) is a generation shaped by the smartphone and by the concomitant rise of social media. I call them iGen” (Twenge). As someone who was born in 1999, I am categorized as an iGen. I grew up with a smartphone and was present on numerous social media platforms, including Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter all before I started high school. I seemed to have fallen into this trap of the digital world, similar to Athena’s experience. As previously mentioned, Twenge makes a point to talk about technology and the effects it has on mental health, especially for the iGen. Although I never experienced this sense of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), I was always curious what my friends and other connections were doing at any given moment. Luckily, I had the power to know in the click of a button, only finding out that they were at the soccer field kicking the ball around or shopping at the local Market Basket with their mom. Scary, I know.
I’ve always been an anxious person, constantly stressing over small things and worried about what others thought of me. The idea of likes, comments, shares and followers being visible on social media platforms only fed my anxious personality. Sometimes I find myself nervous or uneasy when I initially post a picture on Instagram, hoping and praying that I exceed a certain amount of likes or comments just to impress myself and my followers. Then I begin realize an arbitrary number is controlling my life and happiness. Twenge states, “It’s not an exaggeration to describe iGen as being on the brink of the worst mental-health crisis in decades. Much of this deterioration can be traced to their phones” (Twenge). In my time here at the University of New Hampshire as a college student, it is evident that mental health disorders are becoming more prevalent than ever. It is hard to pinpoint a certain area of your life or piece of technology that is contributing to this, but I believe this digital age is not helping.
As mentioned in the article, Bill Yates, a photographer, shot a series of portraits at the Sweetheart Roller Skating Rink in Tampa, Florida, displaying the freedom and independence of teens in the 1970’s. Today, the difference in independence among teenagers is immense. Twenge mentions how teens today are less likely to date. Now there is no direct correlation between the lack of dating and the prevalence of technology, but I do not find this to be surprising. As a 21 year old in college, I have only had one “real” relationship which was three years ago. Likewise, my college roommates and friends have surely been contributing to this statistic and the decrease in dating. If you go back to Generation X which includes both of my parents, the increase in dating and sexual activity was significantly higher, according to Twenge. In fact, my mom “did the dirty deed” before I was even given the “Birds and the Bees talk”, giving birth to me at age 15 and my brother at 14. I understand this is an exception, but it is interesting to acknowledge this shift in physical contact with others and how this statistic may be affected by the digital age.
As for Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, I would like to emphasize the director, Werner Herzog’s perspective of the existential crisis of the internet and other technology. I appreciate how Herzog explores the beneficial opportunities of the internet, while also touching upon the negative consequences of the internet and its prevalence in today’s society. In the film, Herzog interviews a family that has been harassed by others on the internet as a result of the death of a daughter. The perspective that Herzog shares invites the audience to empathize with this particular family and understand the dismissive effects of such technology. Although I have never been in a similar situation to the family being interviewed, I have experienced and witnessed forms of cyberbullying via numerous social media platforms which can have such an impact on people’s mental health. Living in the digital age has exposed myself and many others to black mail and other kinds of threats. Bullying and black mail were still around before the digital age, but the intensity and repeated behavior is much more widespread due to technology and its advances.
Orson Welles’ short film, Future Shock, touches upon this emerging culture that emphasizes the importance of not falling behind and keeping up with the trend. Although this movie was produced in the 1970’s, it is interesting to relate the mindset and culture of teens and families during the rise of technology to today’s society. This similar mindset of high-speed change and chasing this idea of “freedom” is instilled in the minds of today’s individuals, especially iGen.
Considering Jeane Twenge’s article and her interview with Athena, as well as Herzog and Welles’ conceptual ideas regarding technological innovation, it is evident that there was this steadily increasing slope that has led to today’s individuals being affected by technology. I have always been aware of the prevalence of the digital age and the effects it places on my generation, but I consider myself to be more enlightened and educated on these drastic changes that affect an individual’s mental history, dating life, sexual activity, friendships and privacy.
