Importance to Family and Priorities over Their Technology

Final: Creative Writing

Topic 1.6.2 –

My parents and grandparents always tell me ,”stop being so anti social”. Elders view teenagers as a generation of selfish, lethargic and narcissistic humans, who give no importance to family and priorities over their technology.

How amazing has technology progressed over time. From typewriters to computer, radios to Bluetooth speakers and telegraphs to iMessage. Although technology was not at such an advance in the preceding generations, people still found healthy ways to socialise. That’s reason our elders find it so absurd as to how small devices like cell phones and laptops can keep us entertained for hours, in their days they were fortunate to have to have a telephone box on their street.

Although technology has made communication a lot easier, it has undoubtedly changed the lives of teenagers today. Instead of it making us more productive, it has made us more ‘backward’ in our ways, we have allowed it to make us dependant on it. We have the urge to be online on our technological devices 24/7, just so we don’t miss out on anything. But what about missing out on life in the process?

Cell phones and laptops are the main foundation art which social media thrives. It has become part of our lives and we can’t do without it for a single day. Teenagers back then lived a more real and stress-free life in comparison to teenagers today that practically live to please their Instagram followers.

The youth preceding our current generation were far more connected to their families despite the lack of technology we have today. Community played a significant role in their lives and they enjoyed listening to elders and their life experiences. But today, after being dragged to family gatherings, we manage to appear present physically but absent mentally. We forget to sense our surroundings and make the most memories out of it.

People in the past understood what simplicity is, while in today’s time it is nothing but a myth. The contrast between ‘then’ and ‘now’ is an integral part of our everyday lives. But has technology really improved our lives or has it diminished virtues that were once so valuable? As Albert Einstein said “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots”

Word count:  390 words