Is my Smartphone Hurting Me?
There is no doubt that smartphones and social media have drastically changed the social scene for the late millennial and Gen-Z generations along with demonstrating significant technological advancements in the world. Whether or not these changes have been for the better or worse for impressionable children and teenagers is argued in Jean Twenge's "Have Smartphones destroyed a Generation" and "No, Smartphones are not Destroying a Generation" by Sarah Rose Cavanagh. Twenge warns of the negative psychological effects heavy smartphone use has on younger generations through the use of the example of 13-year-old Athena and statistical evidence to compare the social behaviors of teenagers throughout the years. In response, Cavanagh refutes the stats Twenge uses due to its "cherry-picking" bias and weak sources of information through correlations. She then provides evidence that smartphone use actually has as many benefits as harms to balance out the argument...