Technology, Good or Bad?

Has our technology forced us into our shells, instead of breaking us out of them? Has technology destroyed our sense of compassion? The answer is ever so tricky, but it seems pretty clear to me that many teenagers who spend their time wrapped up in what someone said on social media or texting their boyfriend or girlfriend all the time has a much poorer relationship with their parents, their knowledge and themselves. Simply put, technologically savvy teenagers are at a greater risk of walking into a pole while texting than talking to a living person face-to-face. The vast majority of teens has problems with their parents -- parents who give no freedoms, worried parents, nosy parents, parents who don’t stop talking about something, the usual -- but typically, the more wrapped up in that little radioactive device teens are, the more problems they have with their parents. Also, the harder it is to get them to just set the phone down and walk away for more than maybe an hour.

For some reason, being behind a bright little screen makes many kids bolder. They say terrible things, like “You should kill yourself,” or “No one likes you,” or the ones the FCC won’t let me write down. Recently, I noticed an account, one of my former friends, bad mouthing veterans, harassing other accounts and threatening other kids I know. This “friend” of mine is ordinarily quite kind and caring in person, but something got into them and I just had to say something. I sent them a message that read, “Seriously? You’re being really rude and not only do you need to get some compassion, you need to just shut up and put yourself in their shoes.” I was promptly blocked and I haven’t spoken to them since. It just goes to show how much people have lost their compassion. Even 100 years ago, people would help each other -- admittedly, being racist to many in the process, -- and would help each other get up on their feet. Yet, today, people can’t even be remotely civil to each other.