Poalillo 1

Gregory Poalillo
Ms. Grant
UWRT 1103-045
11/4/14
The Effects of New Technology on Adolescent Life
The topic of how new technology affects adolescent life is very popular. The
technology of today is so advanced that it has changed some important aspects of every
day adolescent life. Magwa states in her excerpt, The growth of technology has changed
the world, which in turn has changed the daily lives of adolescents. The way students
learn in the classroom has changed completely due to devices such as computers,
smartphones and the Internet. The way kids entertain themselves has been altered pretty
drastically. Adolescents have easy access to the Internet, smartphones, and computers.
These technologies are used every day by them and have become a habit or even a
lifestyle for them. This means that they have access to an infinite amount of information
that could reach their screens almost instantly. The world has never seen such a drastic
change in lifestyle before this period. Does the technology of today have a positive or
negative effect on the mind of the adolescent? How much do children and teens rely on
technology in everyday life? Will technology have a physical effect on adolescence?
These are some questions that come to mind when thinking about how exactly modern
technology affects adolescent life. Smartphones, computers and the Internet are changing
the way adolescents act, interact and even think.
Does modern technology have a positive effect or negative effect on the
adolescent mind? Smartphones, computers and the Internet have grown to form into

Poalillo 2
adolescents everyday life. They carry their smartphones to school with them, play with it
on the bus, during class when they are bored, on the bus ride home from school, and
when they get back home they go on their computers to browse the Internet or post and
update on social media. Guan states:
The Internet has become all pervasive in the lives of young people, their online
activities and interactions have become the focus of intense research. It is
becoming evident that the Internet presents risks as well as well as opportunities
to adolescent development
This constant contact with modern technology has many curious people wondering if it
will make the kids zombies and brain washed, or if it will constantly provide various
forms of information increasing their knowledge. There are many negative effects of
modern technology on the adolescent mind. These negative effects include Internet
addiction, exposure to sexually explicit material and cyber bullying or harassment (Guan,
2009). Adolescents have been using the Internet as an escape from everyday life, into a
more digital, fun world known as the Internet,
Internet addiction, the term we use here, has been defined as the use of the
Internet to escape from negative feelings, continued use of the Internet despite the
desire to stop, experience of unpleasant emotions when Internet use is impossible,
thinking about the internet constantly, and the experience of any other conflicts or
self-conflicts do to internet use (Guan, 2009).
Using the Internet as an escape from the real world is a poor thing to do because it
leads the child to this addiction. When a child in this generation has a bad day at school,
instead of coming home and talk about their bad day with their parents to help them

Poalillo 3
overcome it, they go up to their room and hide behind a computer screen ignoring their
problem and instead entering the cyber world of the Internet. With the constant use of the
Internet, children gain access to different explicit material meant for adults. One of which
is porn. Porn is meant for adults and is not good for a child to be viewing at a young age.
Unfortunately, porn is just as easily accessible by adolescents as it is adults, and is
viewed as harmful for people of young age, posing as a negative effect on the adolescent
mind. Cyber bullying is a very dangerous aspect of the Internet. Cyber bullying is defined
as the use of the Internet or social media to harm a person emotionally. Bullying is a very
serious and wrong thing to do. For kids to potentially be subjected to that every time they
log onto a web browser is a serious risk. Cyber bullying has led to many suicides across
the U.S.A. and is illegal in many states.
As well as negative effects of the Internet of adolescent mind there are many
positive effects as well. Guan states in her article, Despite the risks, the internet can also
be a positive tool for student learning as well as youth empowerment and well being.
The Internet can help students immensely with schoolwork. Due to the infinite amount of
information the Internet provides, students can search any problem they might have with
schoolwork. This increases knowledge about the subject, improving test scores, history
chronology learning, and motivation to learn (Guan, 2009). There are many positive and
negative ways the Internet can affect adolescent minds.
How much do children rely on technology in their everyday life? Magwa states in
her excerpt, The growth of technology has changed the world, which in turn has
changed the daily lives of adolescents. Through personal experience, modern technology
has started to be incorporated into teens lives more and more and they are becoming

Poalillo 4
ridiculously dependent on their devices. Technology such as smartphones, computers,
and the Internet are used daily by adolescents for various different reasons. One of the
greatest technological accomplishments was the smartphone. It is an all in one game
console, computer, telephone, GPS, calendar etc. Seeing as though this handy device is in
every pocket of every teen in the U.S.A., it is used an obsessive amount. When teens get
bored they whip out their smartphone immediately and dive into the world of social
media. They use their smartphones in class to pass the time if they arent interested in the
lesson. They use it to find their way home if lost. They use it as a music player. Teens use
smartphones as a flashlight at night if they need to. The use of smartphones by teens is a
very aggravating sight as well. When talking to a person who is on their smartphone is
almost like talking to a wall. They are so distracted by what is on social media that they
dont pay attention to the person trying to have a real conversation with them. Not only is
it incredibly annoying, but it is also negatively affecting teens social lives. Back before
we had cellphones and smartphones, people would actually talk to each other. They
would have conversations about what they did that day and they had to pay attention to
detail because they did not have anything else to distract them, it was just them and the
person they are talking to. If someone had a problem or argument with someone else they
would have to say it and express how they feel face to face, instead of hiding behind a
computer screen and typing words at each other. Another aspect of social life that is
altered negatively by technology is teen dating. Back before technology, men had to ask
girls on a date. This was how they got to know each other, then move onto a relationship,
then move on to sexual activities. With smartphones, teens can text. There is no need to
ask a girl on a date face to face because they can just text the girl to hangout.

Poalillo 5
Smartphones have changed how girls and boys interact so drastically that now people just
text each other and hangout to have sex, and if they cant hangout they just send each
other naked pictures with their cellphone cameras. Smartphones have even introduced a
new language called text talk as some people call it. These are basically just words
shortened down so that it is easier to type what you mean with less button pushing. These
text talk phrases include the word LMAO which means laugh my ass off, LOL which
means laugh out loud, and OMG which means oh my god. These are the popular text
talks that teens have started using in everyday speech. Adolescents rely heavily on
modern technology in this present time and it is changing the way teens interact with
each other.
Will modern technology have a physical effect on adolescence? Due to
dependence of technology on electricity, mainly, teens must stay inside to use this
technology. Computers require Wifi or an Ethernet cable to use the Internet. This forces
kids to stay indoors when they want to watch videos or browse the web on their
computers. This takes them away from the outdoors and the sun. It also takes them away
from physical activity like throwing a ball around, riding a bike, or going for a run. If a
teen had to choose between physical activity or being lazy and checking Facebook or
Twitter, most would choose to stay inside and check Facebook or Twitter. It is very
important for developing teens to stay active and play outside. It is also very important
for them to be outside in the sun and for their skin to absorb the natural rays the sun
produces. Many kids who like to play on their computer or play video games inside, get
very little sun exposure, which in turn causes their skin to be very pale and possibly
develop acne. As well as the lack of physical activity teens get from using these devices

Poalillo 6
excessively, there are also many other negative physical effects from using smartphones,
computers and the Internet. For one, when teens use computers it requires them to stare
into the computer screen. This screen has a built in backlight that emits light directly into
the users eyes in order for them to see what is displayed on the screen. This light actually
damages the users eyes and could lead to bad vision or Computer Vision Syndrome.
Computer Vision Syndrome is defined as the name for eye problems caused by computer
use (Nazario, 2012). Nazario states, Kids who stare at portable video games or who use
computers throughout the day at school also can experience eye problems related to
computer use, especially if the lighting and computer position are less than ideal.
Another negative physical effect of technology on teens deals with smartphones. When
taking a call or calling someone, the users keeps the phone against the side of their head
by their ear in order to hear the call. There are telephone waves that travel out of the
phone, and also travel to the phone. These waves bring radiation dangerously close to the
users brain, which proves to be harmful. Although this accounts for everyone using a
cellphone, these telephone waves would be more harmful to a developing brain. Through
experience, technology has no real positive physical effects on adolescents, the effects are
mainly negative. The adolescents must make a choice to either get carried away with
modern technology, or to be safe and use it in moderation, and to balance it with a good
amount of exercise and time outdoors.
Modern technology has made a huge impact on adolescent life. It has brought
many negative and positive effects to the developing teens. Technology is changing the
way teens interact socially, how they preform scholastically, and how they act physically.
Overall, technology plays a negative roll in the development of teens and I feel as though

Poalillo 7
technology brings about more negative change than positive change for them. The world
has never seen such a change in lifestyle before and it is just a matter of time before we
find out if this change was for the better, or for the worse.

Poalillo 8
Works Cited
Guan, Shu-Sha Angie. Youth Internet Use: Risks and Opportunities. Medscape, 2009.
Medscape. 12 October 2014.
Simuforosa, Magwa. The Impact of Modern Technology on the Educational Attainment
of Adolescents. International Journal of Education and Research 1.9 (2013): 18. Print.
Nazario, Brunilda. Computer Vision Syndrome. WebMD Medical Reference, 2012.
WebMD. 16 November 2014.