Effects of Technology

By karina.g, Houston

The majority of people living in America use some sort of technology. Some of the most technological inventions include iPods, computers, and cell phones. This type of technology is said to be resourceful and helpful in meeting new people, and basically in developing social skills. However, I believe it does the opposite of what most technology users think. Although technology is resourceful, it is time consuming and it negatively undermines face-to-face social skills with family and friends.

Non-internet users have been tested to see how using the internet influenced their lives. According to Alfonso,”They also reported spending less time talking with their families, experiencing more daily stress, and feeling more lonely and depressed. These results occurred even though interpersonal communication was their most important reason for using the internet.” This experiment showed how much of a negative impact Internet had on their lives. The excessive usage of the Internet stocked up these people’s lives. Quality time was taken over by typing something to someone instead of talking to the person face-to-face and spending valuable time. According to Nie and Hillygus the difference of the time spent with family and friends between internet users and non-internet users is tremendous. The Internet is resourceful, but the time usage should be limited, because it consumes time that matters, when one should be doing more important things.

Another technological social blocker is the iPod. For example,”Oh, I was listening to my iPod. My bad” (Song 1). The truth is the moment one person places headphones in their ear, it is the moment they create a “don’t talk to me” bubble around themselves. It deteriorates conversation and social interactions that could have caused a good relationship. Instead of creating a relationship one chooses to listen to that special song that could be done on one’s own time.

Those for Internet usage believe,” The Internet can foster openness, and a greater sense of ease and comfort in dealing with others...can even provide opportunities by those who are too depressed to conduct a social life in the real world” (Coget, Yutaka 1). In my response, this isn’t completely true. If someone has low courage and they build this “relationship” on the Internet, when the time comes for in-person interaction, they would be extremely nervous. The reason for this is on the internet you don’t really see how one looks or how one responses to actions. Internet interaction don’t really mean much, those face-to-face interaction are the ones that count for something.

Several people believe that iPods bring people together more than anything. According to Harris,”Once a month, Playlist host iPod Dj nights at a London bar. On these nights, the guests are the entertainment...and make it a social event.” I believe this contains logical fallacies, selective sampling and hasty generalization. Not everyone goes to a bar and gets together jamming to the music from iPods. ONe of the main qualities about an iPod is one can listen to tunes with one’s self. When one does this in public places it limits social interactions, so iPods generally divide people more than bring them together.

In conclusion, although technology is resourceful, it is time consuming and it negatively undermines face-to-face social skills with family and friends. Overall computers and ipods waste valuable time. This is so important because technology detracts from important things in life, like family and friends relations, which are the most important things in a person’s life. 

Teens and the Internet: how much is too much?

Most stories about adolescents and the internet underscore the very real dangers of cyberbullies, sexual predators, and on-line scams that imperil unsuspecting, vulnerable teens. Another risk? The teens themselves. Many spend hours on-line, e-mailing, instant messaging, downloading music, and updating Facebook pages, with some visiting game sites, shopping, and gambling on-line. All of this access can be dangerous; those who abuse the internet can become trapped in a cyber riptide of sorts, pulled in further and further as their time on-line increases, their school performance declines, and their family and peer relationships begin to suffer.

Take Melanie (not her real name), a sixteen-year-old Greenwich Village student, who spent up to seven hours a day updating her Face book page and instant messaging with friends. When her previously high grades began to drop, her parents confiscated her desktop, and Melanie threatened to leave home.

"For an entire year I saw nothing but the back of my daughter's head," Melanie's dad explains. "So I took the computer away. When she became inconsolable and accused us of ruining her social life--she couldn't update her Face book page--we knew there was a serious problem."

Turned out, Melanie was down and out over a flirtation with a boy that had gone nowhere. Once she and her parents began to talk about what was bothering her, their home situation improved dramatically.The family worked it out and she stayed put--with the help of intensive outpatient therapy.

Was Melanie's a case of harmless teen tweeting and more, or a sign of a dangerous problem? Many parents wonder, how much on-line activity is too much? Though internet addiction is not yet a bona fide psychiatric diagnosis, psychiatrists and psychologists are calling for more research, so they can include it in future editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel (DSM), the bible and last word on diagnosis and disorders for therapists, hospitals, clinics, and insurers.

Who is at risk?

Experts agree teens who struggle with internet overuse do not fit a single profile. Heavy users can be socially linked-in, popular adolescents who make good grades. They might spend hours chatting online with friends, posting photos and updates on social media sites. On the other end of the continuum are the isolated, socially anxious teens. They might be teased, bullied, and avoid school altogether. Desperate to meet people and connect, they might surf the web and visit chat rooms and game sites to the exclusion of all else.

How to determine if a teen has a problem?

 While all may seem well, overuse of the internet might be hidden behind deeper problems such as depression, anxiety, substance use or eating disorders, and learning or conduct problems.

Often the problem becomes first apparent in the school setting. "Parents might first notice slippage in school performance. They eventually throw up their hands when any attempt to regulate computer use or limit access quickly devolves into defiance and angry outbursts," says Dr. Eric Teitel, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Manhattan, and a faculty member of the NYU School of Medicine.

In older adolescents (18-25), the profile might differ-though just as with a younger adolescent you might first notice absenteeism from work or school. For people in this age group, internet use is frequently intertwined with sex, gambling, eating disorders, or drug problems, as well as depression or anxiety. Others might spend hours playing on-line poker or shopping, and become increasingly single-minded and isolated.

Teens might be on-line because they are already depressed, anxious, and lonely. Or they might become so, if forced to give up their habit. Signs and symptoms of withdrawal anxiety in a child include: difficulty concentrating, pacing, irritable and stressed mood, and fidgeting.

Other signs your child could have a problem with internet overuse? In addition to a decline in school performance and grades, signs might include repeated surfing or e-mailing during class time, difficulty concentrating and falling asleep in class, hours of night-time use, frequent complaints of being tired, school lateness or absenteeism, and withdrawal from all activities such as sports practices, friends, social engagements and music lessons. Racking up bills for such things as on- line gambling or shopping is also a sign a child is spending too much time on-line.

Read the whole article here.

 

Teens concerned about Internet safety

On Monday, FOX 10 told viewers about a security breach involving apps on Facebook. Games like Farmville and Mafia Wars were accused of distributing your personal information to advertisers and Internet tracking companies. A new study shows more teenagers and parents are paying attention to privacy and safety online -- especially when it comes to social websites.

Which teens may be more likely to develop Internet addiction?

Dear 16-year-old Me!

CYBER BULLYING

Think before you post!

How Internet Predators Lure Teens

This video, The Exchange, demonstrates how easily teen girls can be lured by internet predators. Video produced by NetSmarts.org, teaching youth how to be safer on- and offline. NetSmartz is The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's award-winning, interactive, educational safety program.

Work Smart: Stop Multitasking and Start Doing One Thing ...

A human's ability to do several things at once is a wonder of biology: it means we can eat a burrito while we walk down the street and listen to music and daydream about the weekend all at the same time. But some kinds of multitasking costs you more time than you save.

Doing two things at once, like singing while you take a shower, is not the same as instant messaging while writing a research report. Don't fool yourself into thinking you can multitask jobs that need your full attention. You're not really having a conversation while you write; you're shifting your attention back and forth between the two activities quickly. You're juggling. When you juggle tasks, your work suffers AND takes longer--because switching tasks costs.

When your brain switches its attention from one task to another, it takes time to get into a new train of thought. You lose any momentum you had on the first task, which costs you on the next switch. On the internet or in an office where distractions ...

Multitasking and the Brain

Media Multitaskers Pay Mental Price

Think you can watch videos, make cell phone calls and send e-mails all at once? Stanford experts say even trying can impair your cognitive control. Communication professor Cliff Nass and researcher Eyal Ophir explain why.

To watch the video, click here.

"Multi-taskers" are bad at one thing: multi-tasking

People who text-message while listening to an iPod while reading the newspaper probably think they are good at "multi-tasking." They are wrong, according to a study published Monday.

By Amy Norton

Researchers at Stanford University found that college students who made a habit of immersing themselves in various media at once were not very skilled at tests of memory, attention and, ironically, "task-switching."

In a nutshell, "they're terrible at multi-tasking," Dr. Clifford Nass, one of the researchers on the work, told Reuters Health in an interview. The findings, published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are surprising, the researchers admit. The findings also suggest that today's array of devices that make multi-tasking possible, and supposedly easy, may not be a good thing.

Going into the study, Nass said, he and his colleagues assumed that "heavy multi-taskers" must have some innate ability that allowed them to handle several tasks at once. Maybe they were good at filtering out irrelevant distractions from their environment, the researchers hypothesized.

But a simple cognitive test of such filtering -- where test-takers were asked to focus on the characteristics of a group of red triangles while ignoring a few extraneous blue triangles -- showed that multi- taskers performed more poorly than people who were not prone to media multi-tasking

The same was true when study participants took a test that measures the brain's ability to organize and file away information, and when they took a test of task-switching. The multi-taskers were actually slower to shift their attention from one test task to another.

The study included 262 college undergraduates who filled out questionnaires on their media use -- how often they went online, watched TV, read, listened to music, emailed and text-messaged, and how often they did a few of those things at once. Students classified as either heavy or light media multi-taskers then took the series of cognitive tests. While the results suggest that heavy multi-taskers are not actually good at what they do, the reasons for that are not clear, Nass said.

Overexposure to too many media distractions may be at fault -- or it may be that people who are "born bad multi-taskers" are, ironically, more drawn to doing it.

It's possible, according to Nass and his colleagues, that heavy multi- taskers tend to have a generally "exploratory" orientation: they simply like to gather lots of information, even if that means sacrificing their performance on the task at hand.

But whether heavy media multi-tasking causes the differences seen in this study or not, Nass said, the implication would seem to be the same: "Heavy multi-taskers should stop doing it."

"Society is developing tools all the time to make multi-tasking easier," he said. "The question is whether that's a good thing."

Ten confidence boosters for teens

1 Stand Tall - As you walk down the street, remember to stand tall and take in a deep breath. Imagine you are breathing in confidence!

2 Smile - Even if it is the last thing you feel like doing, keep smiling. Try and look for little things to smile about, smile at strangers. Just the act of smiling releases endorphins into your bloodstream.

3 Compliments - Every time someone pays you a compliment, accept it graciously and really own that compliment rather than disregard or laugh it off.

4 Diary - Keep a diary and try to note down all all your successes. Celebrate and reward your successes!

5 Friends - Surround yourself with positive and confident people who make you feel good about yourself. Do activities that encourage you to get out in nature and exercise. You might like create a 'dream team' - a group of people who support and motivate you and share your dreams and wishes. Share your ideas and dreams and make steps to make these into a reality.

6 Mirror - Look into a mirror and say 'I love you' Remind yourself of what makes you special. This is a hard one to start with, but will get easier with time.

7 Achievements - Make a book of your achievements, talents and qualities. List all your successes and things that you are proud of. List all the things that makes you the special person that you are and include all the things that you have done to others and how you have made others happy. You might like to put them in a book and refer to it when you are feeling low.

8 Talk - As much as possible talk to yourself in a kind and positive way. If you notice you talk to yourself in a negative way with put downs, try to stop and change it immediately.

9 Affirmations - Each day, repeat one positive statement or affirmation. You might say 'I am positive and everything that happens is good' or 'I am special and I make a difference' You might even like to theme your day as a positive, happy, confident, joyful or special day and do things that make you feel that way. Here are some ideas: I am unique, i am special, I think about all the things that make me special, I choose thoughts that make me feel good about myself, I deserve to have good in my life, I love the fact that I am different and unique, I am not afraid to be different, I am not afraid to be special, I know that I am loved and respected, I love and respect myself, I believe in myself I know that I make a difference to those around me, I feel good about myself. I believe in myself. I believe in myself I believe in myself, I feel confident, I fill my mind with positive thoughts about myself, I am proud of the things I have achieved. I congratulate myself. I love myself, I am unique and wonderful, I love and accept myself, I love and accept myself.'

10 Relax and Visualise - Relaxation is a great help to feeling better about yourself as it helps you feel good and help manage feelings and emotions.Close your eyes and imagine you are standing in front of a mirror. See yourself standing tall, smiling and looking great. Notice how you feel. Let the positive and confident feelings wash all over you.

Demi Lovato Stands up Against Bullying

PACER: Teens against bullying

Bullying is a big problem!

Every day thousands of teens wake up afraid to go to school. Bullying is a problem that affects millions of students, and it has everyone worried, not just the kids on its receiving end. Yet because parents, teachers, and other adults don't always see it, they may not understand how extreme bullying can get.

Bullying is when a person is picked on over and over again by an individual or group with more power, either in terms of physical strength or social standing.

Two of the main reasons people are bullied are because of appearance and social status. Bullies pick on the people they think don't fit in, maybe because of how they look, how they act (for example, kids who are shy and withdrawn), their race or religion.

Some bullies attack their targets physically, which can mean anything from shoving or tripping to punching or hitting, or even sexual assault. Others use psychological control or verbal insults to put themselves in charge. For example, people in popular groups or cliques often bully people they categorize as different by excluding them or gossiping about them (psychological bullying). They may also taunt or tease their targets (verbal bullying).

Verbal bullying can also involve sending cruel instant or email messages or even posting insults about a person on a website — practices that are known as cyberbullying.

 

How Does Bullying Make People Feel?

One of the most painful aspects of bullying is that it is relentless. Most people can take one episode of teasing or name calling or being shunned at the mall. However, when it goes on and on, bullying can put a person in a state of constant fear.

Guys and girls who are bullied may find their schoolwork and health suffering. Amber began having stomach pains and diarrhea and was diagnosed with a digestive condition called irritable bowel syndrome as a result of the stress that came from being bullied throughout ninth grade. Mafooz spent his afternoons hungry and unable to concentrate in class because he was too afraid to go to the school cafeteria at lunchtime.

Studies show that people who are abused by their peers are at risk for mental health problems, such as low self-esteem, stress, depression, or anxiety. They may also think about suicide more.

Bullies are at risk for problems, too. Bullying is violence, and it often leads to more violent behavior as the bully grows up. It's estimated that 1 out of 4 elementary-school bullies will have a criminal record by the time they are 30. Some teen bullies end up being rejected by their peers and lose friendships as they grow older. Bullies may also fail in school and not have the career or relationship success that other people enjoy.

 

Who Bullies?

Both guys and girls can be bullies. Bullies may be outgoing and aggressive. Or a bully can appear reserved on the surface, but may try to manipulate people in subtle, deceptive ways, like anonymously starting a damaging rumor just to see what happens.

Many bullies share some common characteristics. They like to dominate others and are generally focused on themselves. They often have poor social skills and poor social judgment. Sometimes they have no feelings of empathy or caring toward other people.

Although most bullies think they're hot stuff and have the right to push people around, others are actually insecure. They put other people down to make themselves feel more interesting or powerful. And some bullies act the way they do because they've been hurt by bullies in the past — maybe even a bullying figure in their own family, like a parent or other adult.

Some bullies actually have personality disorders that don't allow them to understand normal social emotions like guilt, empathy, compassion, or remorse. These people need help from a mental health professional like a psychiatrist or psychologist.

 

What Can You Do?

For younger kids, the best way to solve a bullying problem is to tell a trusted adult. For teens, though, the tell-an-adult approach depends on the bullying situation.

One situation in which it is vital to report bullying is if it threatens to lead to physical danger and harm. Numerous high-school students have died when stalking, threats, and attacks went unreported and the silence gave the bully license to become more and more violent.

Sometimes the victim of repeated bullying cannot control the need for revenge and the situation becomes dangerous for everyone.

Adults in positions of authority — parents, teachers, or coaches — can often find ways to resolve dangerous bullying problems without the bully ever learning how they found out about it.

If you're in a bullying situation that you think may escalate into physical violence, try to avoid being alone (and if you have a friend in this situation, spend as much time together as you can). Try to remain part of a group by walking home at the same time as other people or by sticking close to friends or classmates during the times that the bullying takes place.

Bullying Survival Tips

Here are some things you can do to combat psychological and verbal bullying. They're also good tips to share with a friend as a way to show your support:

• Ignore the bully and walk away. It's definitely not a coward's response — sometimes it can be harder than losing your temper. Bullies thrive on the reaction they get, and if you walk away or ignore hurtful emails or instant messages, you're telling the bully that you just don't care. Sooner or later the bully will probably get bored with trying to bother you. Walk tall and hold your head high. Using this type of body language sends a message that you're not vulnerable.
• Hold the anger. Who doesn't want to get really upset with a bully? But that's exactly the response he or she is trying to get. Bullies want to know they have control over your emotions. If you're in a situation where you have to deal with a bully and you can't walk away with poise, use humor — it can throw the bully off guard. Work out your anger in another way, such as through exercise or writing it down (make sure you tear up any letters or notes you write in anger).
• Don't get physical. However you choose to deal with a bully, don't use physical force (like kicking, hitting, or pushing). Not only are you showing your anger, you can never be sure what the bully will do in response. You are more likely to be hurt and get in to trouble if you use violence against a bully. You can stand up for yourself in other ways, such as gaining control of the situation by walking away or by being assertive in your actions. Some adults believe that bullying is a part of growing up (even that it is character building) and that hitting back is the only way to tackle the problem. But that's not the case. Aggressive responses tend to lead to more violence and more bullying for the victims.
• Practice confidence. Practice ways to respond to the bully verbally or through your behavior. Practice feeling good about yourself (even if you have to fake it at first).
• Take charge of your life. You can't control other people's actions, but you can stay true to yourself. Think about ways to feel your best — and your strongest — so that other kids may give up the teasing. Exercise is one way to feel strong and powerful. (It's a great mood lifter, too!) Learn a martial art or take a class like yoga. Another way to gain confidence is to hone your skills in something like chess, art, music, computers, or writing. Joining a class, club, or gym is a great way to make new friends and feel great about yourself. The confidence you gain will help you ignore the mean kids.
• Talk about it. It may help to talk to a guidance counselor, teacher, or friend — anyone who can give you the support you need. Talking can be a good outlet for the fears and frustrations that can build when you're being bullied.
• Find your (true) friends. If you've been bullied with rumors or gossip, all of the above tips (especially ignoring and not reacting) can apply. But take it one step further to help ease feelings of hurt and isolation. Find one or two true friends and confide how the gossip has hurt your feelings. Set the record straight by telling your friends quietly and confidently what's true and not true about you. Hearing a friend say, "I know the rumor's not true. I didn't pay attention to it," can help you realize that most of the time people see gossip for what it is — petty, rude, and immature. 

Teens against bullying

Visit this website, click here.

Teens in love

Teenagers describe their experience of being in love, and their often confusing feelings.

Am I in love?

It is a very common question, "How can I tell I'm in love?", but it is not an easy question to answer. What feels like love to one person may be nothing more than attraction to another. Some people fall in and out of love quickly and often while others are never really in love as much as they are in lust. This can get confusing when you are a teen because romantic love is a relatively new concept for you and you don't know what to expect. You are overwhelmed with all sorts of new feelings and social pressures. They are confusing. What is love? What makes you want a romantic relationship with one person and not another? How does your heart choose a partner? Why does love end? These questions can't be easily answered.

 

One of the most confusing quasi-love feelings is lust. Lust is a very powerful, very intense feeling of physical attraction toward another person. Lust is mainly sexual in nature - the attraction is superficial based on instant chemistry rather than genuine caring. Usually we lust after people we do not know well, people we still feel comfortable fantasizing about. It is very common for people to confuse lust for love. Lust is about physical attraction and acting ONLY on physical attraction. Love is about much more than that. Yet many teens (and to be fair, many adults) confuse an intense attraction for some sort if divine love. For teens, since feelings of attraction are still new and since pop-culture sells sex and love as one package, it is very easy to get the two mixed up.

Lust is clearly not love. Love is based on more than just physical attraction. Sure, attraction is a factor, but love goes deeper than that. Love is based on caring, friendship, commitment and trust. When you are in love it is as if you have your best most trusted friend at your side AND you feel physically attracted to them. It is the best of both worlds! Love is a shared feeling between two people who have a vested interest in one anothers happiness. Love is not about jealousy. It is not about conflict. It is not about testing. Love is a positive feeling. If it is tainted by mistrust, jealousy, insecurity or spitefulness it is not really love but merely a pale copy. Love is the total surrender of your heart to another person with the security of knowing they will treat it better than you will. Love should feel good. It should not feel bad. Love should make you want to be a better person, it should not lead you to do something self destructive. Love is not demanding of your spirit but lifts it and makes it glow. Love is a good thing. Anything less is lust, deep friendship or attraction.

 

There is no easy way to find the truth behind your feelings or the feelings of another person but there are some tell-tale signs that love is blooming (or growing deeper). If you agree with 7 of the following 9 statements you are probably in love.

• You know, because you have been told by your significant other, that your deep feelings are returned in kind.

• The object of your affections makes you feel special and good about yourself.

• If/when you feel jealous it is always fleeting; you trust your partner not to betray you or hurt your relationship.

• Nothing makes you feel as serene as when you and your partner are together.

• When you fight with your partner you usually make up within a few hours and you always agree that nothing is more important than you both being able to express your true feelings (even if they sometimes cause conflict).

• Your partner never asks you to choose between him/her and your loyalties to your family and friends - if you do choose him/her over them you always have a good reason and it is always YOUR decision, and your decision alone.

• Neither you or your partner feel the need to test the other's loyalties or feelings.

• You are more yourself when with your partner than you are with anybody else.

• If sex is part of your relationship it is by mutual desire and agreement without the slightest hint of commitment testing or persuasion.