Technology has become a necessity in our
daily lives, with usage rates rising

dramatically each year. We use it for school, to communicate with each other, spread information, entertainment and more. Although these technical innovations have brought students great learning and communication tools, the overuse of technology has had many negative impacts on the development of today’s youth.

While teens have a quick and easy way to communicate with one another thanks to social media, things like beauty standards, number of likes and followers, hurtful comments, and harmful posts can significantly lower one’s self-esteem. Teens are bombarded with posts from celebrities and influencers showing off photoshopped and unrealistic body images. The wide talk of fasting and eating disorders makes this issue 10x worse.

I always see Instagram stories with eye-catching inspirational quotes, encouraging others to pursue a healthy lifestyle then later, I come across posts that are basically promoting eating disorders. It’s hard to view the post promoting a healthy lifestyle as encouragement when eating disorders are also being widely promoted as an option to reach the body image standards portrayed through social media. Why go to the gym and make my meals when I could fast and get similar effects by starving myself, right? This is what social media promotes. The reality is: not eating enough will destroy your immune system, strength, and just about everything your body does, don’t let social media do that to you.

On top of social media destroying teens’ ideals of standards, electronics, especially smartphones, can hold a person’s attention for long periods of time. Using electronic devices for hours on end can lead to eyestrain, poor posture, and sleep problems, which can also lead to depression and anxiety. Taking regular breaks from your screens can lessen the likelihood of these effects, though we know it’s not that easy. Without even thinking about it we pick up our phones whenever we get a break from our daily tasks. The entertainment in our own pockets is becoming more important than verbal communication.

The moral of the story is that technology is becoming more harmful than helpful. More destructive than supportive. We talk to each other more through a screen than we do face to face. We need it for school, want it for entertainment, and choose it over verbal communication. It has killed our attention spans as well as our confidence.