Blogpost 3: How Teens use It

You probably wonder why teens get very addicted with today's technology, don't you? Social networking sites, online games, entertaining websites and good reference. These things are probably the common reasons you could hear when asking a teenager. As a teenager, myself, I was once addicted to video games and networking sites. High-definition graphics fascinates me and really makes me interested to play more. Great sound effects, realistic scenarios, everything is there. I also love hanging out with friends, and when I started joining on social networking sites, I can feel the same thing. I can talk to them wherever and whenever. Furthermore, through this online chatting, I met new people. These things are really good and helpful, yet some people think it destroys our minds. What could be their explanations? Let's find out.

Basically, there are 3 things that teenagers get addicted in. I read the article "Technologies Affecting Modern Teenagers" by Kristen Berry from the site everydaylife.globalpost.com. Basedsocial networks and it can take photos. All-in-one device, everyone wants that. Inspite of its advantages, ce on the article, the most addictive device as a teenager is the cellphone. Except for it's ability to keep in touch with people, cellphones can also have games, applications that gives you access to different kinds of llphones have its negative side also. Teenagers get really dependent to their devices and often make them very lazy, spending all their time with it. Being socially active can also be bad, like taking daily photos of yourself and posting them on facebook or Twitter. Criminals might get some information about you and may able to track you.

Second is the Computers, these are very helpful in terms of studies. Computers can provide unlimited access of information, you can research anything you want and you will receive an answer immediately. They play a large role on a students' life but some parents say that this can very distractive. Teenagers always get tempted to surf the internet, play games and go to social networks. They can't set their priorities straight and they always find it hard to stay on task. The main reasons why students fail to study.

And the third one is Televisions, basically just an entertainment for everyone but this things greatly influenced the youth. They are trying to do what they can see on televisions, probably they feel that they can relate on a certain show. Obesity is also one of the problems that a teenager could get, this is the result of being lazy and spending all day in front of the T.V. 

"Technology is an integral part of nearly every teenager's life", Kristen Berry said. I strongly agree, because I myself can't deny it, for example; every student used to rely on books for information on learning. However, since technology developed, you can say that we can find anything online that we need and that written materials are no longer usable as it used to be. Lastly, the most important thing in having a gadget is being able to entertained by it, just like computer games. Before, previous generations used to find entertainment just like cultural games. 

Because of the new entertainment we discover through technology, parents can't know everything a teenager does. Some even play violent games when they're younger, which affects their behavior and characteristics as they grow up. I read an article entitled "Violent Video games affects Children and Adolescence" by Craig A. Andersen from the site www.herbogeminis.com.  As we know violent crimes by adolescence arouse when violent video games such as GTA. This happens because of the lack of guidance from parents. Parents, nowadays, can't track every move their children do because of the technology that is intensely advanced that people from previous generations that are having a hard time to function to it. It is also said in this article that adolescence these days are easily illed because of the lack of exercise and moving around. Researchers state that high usage of technology will slow down the development of a teenager's brain. Not only does it slow down your brain but it is also hard for adolescence to interact socially with other people. Because technology is everywhere, we can't stop our children from using it but we can limit the amount of hours it can be used. Violent games affect teenager's attitude towards their parents in a bad way that they become rude which makes the relationship with their family as it used to be. Lastly, we can't fully blame the teenagers for playing violent video games because it wouldn't be for their parents buying it for them, they woudn't have to play it. 

According to Andersen, "You must consider more than the age based rating." I totally agree with what Andersen said because the age rating is not always a precise indicator or the content. I, as a teenager, have experienced to play violent games which lead me nowhere. Sooner or later teenagers will realize that playing such violent games is a waste of time. However, as we know it teenagers don't think too wisely that is why parents should always be dependable of what is correct.

In conclusion, it's parents' responsibility to know what is going on with their child's life. They probably bought a gadget that may help their kids, but they don't notice how this device can also distract one's mind. For the teens' side, you must know your limitations. Use the technology in a proper way, this maybe the best way to be entertain, you should know this can also be the worst enemy you could have.