Technology

When I think of a lot of problems that come with new technology and things like that, I think about people who can't stay away from it. I've noticed that a lot of teenagers go insane if their phone isn't in their pocket. At Girls Camp and Youth Conference last summer, some people kept their cell phones in their pockets even though they knew there wouldn't be any reception. They just needed the weight there. A girl who sat next to me in Spanish last term didn't even pay attention at all. She just sat there and texted the whole time. When she wasn't texting she just sat there. It was really weird because I figured that if she texted so much she must have a lot to say, but she barely said anything during that class. What was crazy was that when I checked my texts about a month ago, I had almost one thousand. That was a little scary. Since then, I've tried to text less, and call more. If I want to hang out with someone, I try to call more often than I text to ask them. I don't want my cell phone to become my best friend.

My uncle likes to call Facebook "MyFace". That's another thing that's easy to get addicted to. There are games, quizzes, groups, other people's statuses to look at, chat, etc. There's always more to do. When I see how much time some people spend on Facebook, that really weirds me out. It's just another thing that makes people it harder for people to actually talk face to face. It isn't always safe, either. I've seen like 3 different kinds of links on Facebook that can give your computer viruses. Some people on Facebook add other people just to have more virtual friends, even if they're complete strangers. I think people just really have to make sure that they don't spend all their time at the computer.

My brother really likes music. He's kind of obsessed with it. Whether he's in the car, at the computer, or just sitting there, he is almost always listening to music. When he does that he usually uses headphones. He turns it up really loud so that you could be standing there yelling at him and he probably wouldn't notice. So when you try to get his attention he can't hear you. Then, if you try taking out his headphones, he gets mad at you for stopping his music. My mom's favorite phrase about this is, "unplug!" I think that really fits, because if you're always plugged into something, it makes it a lot harder to actually interact with people and know what's going on. I think that's why my brother is usually the last person in the house to know what's going on. To try to stay away from that problem, I asked for an iHome for Christmas. That way I can listen to my music, but through speakers. Then if someone is trying to talk to me, my music doesn't get in the way.

Basically, I think technology is a great thing. It helps us do homework, get information when we need it, listen to music, talk to friends, etc. I think that a lot of people don't realize that they're letting it become their life. They're letting it turn into the only thing they care about. I think that it helps if you try to make sure that you stay involved, and don't give yourself too much free time. Fill your time with good things, and you don't have to worry about technology taking your time over.