Disturbing Behavior
Week 3:
Teens and Technology
Dr. Steve Vandegriff
CHMN 301-B01
The Disturbing behavior in teens I have chosen to look up and study is teens and
technology. Everyone has seen some teen with a phone, or video game glued to their eyes. What
is the effect of this on the teen is it good or bad and what makes it good or bad. One thing I see as
I work with teens is how they are always on some kind of technology. This is a major change
from when I was a teen. Technology can have good and bad effects. According to the Pew
research center in 2015 92% of teens are online daily With 24% of them on line constantly.
(Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018...) These stats have changed a lot from 2015 to the
newest study in 2018. The newest survey has that number that constantly use the internet has
nearly doubled to 44%. A few of the things teens spend their time on while they are online could
include youtube, snapchat, instagram, facebook, and twitter just to name a few. This does not
include the time they might spend on games or doing research. “According to Common Sense
Media, teens spend an average of nine hours a day online (paywall), compared to about six hours
for those aged eight to 12 and 50 minutes for kids between 0 and eight. Any way you cut it, it’s a
lot of time staring at a screen.”(Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018...; Anderson 2018) All
of this time on technology can take an effect good and bad.
We will start with the good side of technology, first as we look at what are the good
things that the teens use technology for. We can see that they use it to stay connected to friends
and family as well as to expand their knowledge of different things by researching and studying.
This has also helped our youth to become more independent as they are able to figure out things
on their own by researching different problems that they encounter in their lives. There are
opportunities for teens to use technology to help express their creative expressions, by writing or
creating artwork, or even film making by using different apps. The last thing is that technology
can do is to help enhance a teens learning as we see more technology being add to the classroom
and to schools across the country.
Unfortunately the list of good stops there as we can find many more problems with this
use of technology. The problem we see with technology is that teens are using it for the wrong
things. Some of these are Sexting, cyber bullying, cheating to name a few. The overuse of
technology can also cause problem with our physical body as teens don’t get enough sleep, can
cause bad eyesight, and has even been known to cause carpal tunnel. If a teen doesn’t get the
sleep that their body require it can cause them to have difficulty learning and concentrating,
feeling stressed or anxious, it can make them irritable, it can cause health issues such as acne and
viral illnesses, and last it can lead to unhealthy eating habits which leads to weight gain. It
doesn't stop there as the more time teens spend on social media, or other screen activities it
increases their chance of depression, anxiety and suicide. The worst part is that high schooler that
thought about suicide increased by 25% from 2009 to 2017(Resnick 2019). The most astounding
fact is that poisoning attempts by girls between ages 10 to 12 increased 268% from 2010 to
2017(Resnick 2019). It can also put stress on the family relationship as their is a lack of face to
face contact, and it can give a teen an unrealistic view of what family is or even what their own
self worth is.
Solutions for this overuse of technology is education on the effects of the overuse of
technology. There are ways of lessening the chance of depression and anxiety just by playing
sports, or going to religious services, or even doing homework more than the average teen cut
their risk significantly. I do believe that parents need to be watching how much time their kids
spend on technology. We as parents need to remind our children of 1 Corinthians 6:12 as it says
“You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though
“I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything”. We need to remember
Bibliography
that the flesh is weak As it says in Matthew 26:41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give
in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”(Tyndale House Publishers
2004) I do believe that education and restriction is one way we can decrease the problem of
overuse of technology. Today’s society needs to slow down how fast they are pushing technology
on the kids of today. We need to stop giving our kids screens to occupy them and remember that
they are kids and the need to act like kids and play. After studying this material I am shocked and
fearful for the youth of today. I will be praying for them everyday.
Anderson, Monica, Jingjing Jiang, Monica Anderson, and Jingjing Jiang. "Teens, Social Media &
Technology 2018." Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. November 30, 2018.
https://www.pewinternet.org/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/.
"How Does Technology Affect Teen Health and Well-Being?" NAIS.
https://www.nais.org/learn/independent-ideas/september-2017/how-does-technology-
affect-teen-health-and-well-being/.
Resnick, Brian. "Have Smartphones Really Destroyed a Generation? We Don't Know." Vox. May
16, 2019. https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/2/20/18210498/smartphones-
tech-social-media-teens-depression-anxiety-research.
Ryan, Ryan, Ryan, Kendall, Brooke, Sarah, Vince, Tyler, Blevins, Pete, and Alycia. "7 Positive
Benefits of Technology for Children | Pros & Cons in Early Youth Development." ID Tech.
https://www.idtech.com/blog/benefits-of-technology-for-children.
"The Upside of Technology for Our Teenagers." Your Teen Magazine. April 16, 2019.
https://yourteenmag.com/technology/the-upside-of-technology.
