Siobhan Smith 

Professor Jesse Miller

Eng 110

11/9/2023

Digital Technology on Young Minds

Technology and the internet are having a larger impact on humans each day. As more and more digital technology develops, humans, especially children, are changing how they live to adjust to technology. In Kevin Kelley’s essay “Technophilia”, he argues about many negatives of technology and is very aware of the overall impact technology is having on us, whereas Jonathan Haidt in “Get Phones Out of Schools Now” believes there are major negative effects to the constant use of phones. Jonathan Haidt mostly talks about students and children and the effect the internet is having on young minds. Haidt thinks that phones should be completely eliminated in school because phones are only taking away from students’ education. I think that Kelley and Haidt have the same feelings towards technology in education but are just looking at the effects through different perspectives. Kelley argues we have fallen so deep into a deep dark hole when it comes to technology that there is no climbing out. To explain how intensely we depend on technology he speaks about love and tries to communicate how in love we are with technology and see technology in a new light. Haidt doesn’t see this light and just sees complete darkness and is trying to think of new ways to save us from technology, and that is by eliminating phones in schools. As a student, I will admit I am in love with my phone, but I am also aware that this is bad. At the same time, I don’t think my phone and the internet are going to take over my life. I don’t think they have to be completely eliminated. I believe there should be boundaries put into schools when it comes to technology because phones are distracting and they will always eventually become a problem. These boundaries could be students having to put their phones away at the start of class in a bin, or just keep them out of sight. Almost everyone has the same thoughts when it comes to technology, and they are aware it is bad if they want to admit it or not. We just all take these ideas and try to flip them into a perspective we like and want to hear. Haidt and Kelley share similar ideas about digital technology but from different perspectives. Technology, specifically devices, are affecting young minds consistently and are becoming unmanageable.

Kelley and Haidt both feel that technology is majorly affecting children physically and mentally. Haidt talks more about the effects of technology on children in the classroom while Kelley focuses more on the overall impact. These impacts are constantly increasing negatively because technology is only advancing. For instance, phones are never going to go away, they are constantly creating new versions to make people want to upgrade and buy a new phone. These phones are becoming something we can’t live without. “[Kelley’s] friend’s daughter tested the limits of her parents’ restrictions. And to reinforce the seriousness of her misconduct, they took away her mobile phone. Immediately the girl became physically sick. It was as if her parents had amputated a limb. Our creations are now inseparable from us. Our identity with technology runs deep, to our core.”(Kelley 1) Children in upcoming generations are unable to be away from their devices. I like to have my phone and know that it’s constantly with me but I don’t think if I was away from it the effects would be this extreme. I would be able to go on with life and function without my phone, but the generations below me won’t be able to say the same. This is going to mess with children’s social and communication skills. Not only that, but it will also affect their health physically and even more their mental health. Haidt had met with a principal and top administrators at a high school in Scarsdale, New York. He was informed that “most high schools in America, [are] struggling with a large and recent increase in mental illness among its students. The primary diagnoses were depression and anxiety disorders, with increasing rates of self-harm; girls were particularly vulnerable. Coming out of middle school, many students were already anxious and depressed. Many were also already addicted to their phones.”(Haidt 1) As a teenage girl who survived high school, I know exactly what Haidt is talking about. High school is hard socially and is not for everyone but that doesn’t matter at the end of the day because we all have to go to high school. I have many friends who struggle with depression and anxiety and many more who are struggling and not diagnosed yet. This number is only going to continue to increase and our phones are not helping. Some of us turn to our phones as a comfort object and how we can reach out to the people we love in times of need, but some of the stuff we see on our phones are awful for our mental health. We feel the need to fit a certain look and act a certain way because of what we see on social media. Some people are strong enough to look past these stereotypes but unfortunately, the majority are not. We are constantly feeling like we are not good enough and phones are a major contributing factor. Our physical and mental health is only being harmed by digital technology.

The need for digital technology is delaying independence growth. Upcoming generations are getting phones and devices earlier and earlier with no need for having them at all. I didn’t get my phone until I was in 6th grade because I had to walk to and from school every day, and my parents wanted to make sure I was safe. In the grand scheme of things though; I don’t think I needed a phone. I used it for everything but contacting my parents. If I did contact my parents it wasn’t for an emergency it was for something I could have gone without texting them. Haidt in his essay states that he “believes that children and teens would benefit developmentally if they were to go six or seven hours each day out of contact with their parents.”(Haidt 4) I’d have to agree with this because I always felt like I had someone watching over me which is only good to a certain extent. Your parents aren’t always going to be there and children need to learn how to be independent. We already live with our parents and then having a phone adds to them communicating with you even when you are away from home. Children need time away from supervision to grow and learn on their own. “We don’t “need” a lot of what we maintain. We keep specific technology around not only because it may be useful, but because we like to have it around.”(Kelley 7) Kelley says this in his essay and it corresponds exactly with what Haidt is saying. We don’t need this technology and the devices that we hold. We just feel the need to have them around and believe that they are necessary. When really we would be completely fine without them. If I had my phone taken away from me right now I would at first not know what to do, but after a little while, I think I would be better off. I would enjoy what was going on around me and not have to worry about anyone contacting me or distracting me from what was going on right in front of me. I believe that we as humans would enjoy life more without devices, and I bet many would disagree with me. Think about the times your phone was dead or you shut it off and just enjoyed what was happening in the moment. You were most likely happy and didn’t even think about your phone. These devices we feel we “need” we would be just fine without. 

These devices are not going anywhere, so it’s up to us to choose the amount digital technology affects future generations. As a 19-year-old girl, I wish someone had told me that I didn’t need social media or even a phone in general. I wish my parents didn’t get me a phone so young, because I genuinely think I would have been better off without it. Yes, I would have missed out on some of the things my friends were seeing on their phones, but in the grand scheme of things I didn’t need to see any of it. Children are only being negatively affected by this technology and if we can avoid the physical and mental health issues these children are struggling with we should try to. Parents should wait as long as possible to expose their children to the internet for their child’s well-being. Kelley and Haidt blatantly explained all of the negatives digital technology is having on children in their essays and all the evidence is there. Whether we want to admit it or not, digital technology hurts our minds. These young minds are the future and if we can help them to be happy and healthy now then we should. If that is by getting them a phone later in life so that they can grow up into independent teens first then that’s what we should do. If we keep implementing devices into young lives so soon these issues are only going to get worse, but we have the opportunity to change this pattern. 

Works Cited

Haidt, Jonathan. “Get Phones out of Schools Now.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 14 June 2023, www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/ban-smartphones-phone-free- schools-social-media/674304/. Accessed 8 November 2023.

Kelley, Kevin. “Technophilia.” The Technium, 8 June 2009, kk.org/thetechnium/technophilia/. Accessed 8 November 2023