Today at the annual Walk for Hunger in Boston, I was talking with one of my sixth grade teachers about smartphones. He was telling about how smartphones are occupying teenager's time and how no matter what boundaries he sets for usage on a phone, his teenager always finds a way around to communicating with his friends. Addiction to a phone. That was something I was very well aware of when I got a phone this past week and Instagram. I'm beginning to feel the pull of the media…the endless desire to connect with friends and find out what other people are thinking and feeling. It is harder than I expected to avoid checking that phone or replying to that text. I deliberately muted ringers and notifications so that I would not be tempted to look.
Yet my teacher and I were talking today about how smartphones can slowly occupy so much time from a student's life that it's affecting their grades. And when parents try to set goals as motivation, kids sometimes lack that motivation to attain them, even if it means losing their phone. It's that temporary relief that we feel when we immerse ourselves in social media that we end up forgetting about reality. It's temporary. In fact, my teacher was telling me how media addiction is to some degree taking away kids impetus to be successful. Grades dip because of a lack of hard work and absorption in the media. Media can come with wonderful benefits. These should not withdraw from ones desire to be better. While engaging with media, we need to remember the importance of thinking long term. Which is why I decided to inspire myself after completing the 20 mile Walk for Hunger. [Post about Walk for Hunger next week!]
"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrificing and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." ~Pele
No comments:
Post a Comment