First Draft

Things Are Not The Way They Use To Be: Modern Technology’s Affect on Our Generations Society
Introduction
After a review and summary of various articles, opinions regarding the use of various types of modern technology by the teenage generation, the information suggests that new technology may affect the way they interact with society.
The Basics: The New Gateway to the World
Let’s face it, the last twenty years or so the world has seen a drastic change in the type of technology we have become accustomed to. Twenty years ago desktop computers and cell phones were in the beginning stages of there production. They were bulky and expensive, which sounds unappealing and does not attract teenager’s attention. Also the World Wide Web was not far behind. “Today four out of five teens (17 million) carry a wireless device ,a 40 percent increase since 2004( The Voice of Online Marketing).” Computers are becoming even more popular with teenagers. “Sixty-three percent regular use their computer at home (CBS News).” Teens have become so accustom to having these various types of technology at there finger tips. In a recent study, “Nearly half (47 percent) of US teens say their social life would end or be worsened without their cell phone, and nearly six in 10 (57 percent) credit their mobile device with improving their life,” according to a national survey from CTIA and Harris Interactive. The question now is, “If teens have such a strong dependence on new modern technology like cell phones, web, instant messaging and computers, what kind of affects does it have on how they interact with today’s society?”
The first question we should start with deals with the most obvious form of modern technology, computer and the web. Teens are by far the biggest users of online social networking sites. The social networking explosion in the recent years can be attributed to modern technology. The article “MySpace Generation” was written by Jessi Hempel and editorial assistant Paula Lehman. It was printed on December 12, 2005 in Business Week. It stresses how big social networking sites have grown in the past years. It also describes how social networking is more in tune for the teenage crowd. They also try to convey the idea that these social networking sites are the new gateway to advertise new music to middle to upper class teenagers. Now they have grown into international music gathering places. They came to the conclusion that music networking is constantly taking over the life of students, teenagers, and even adults. The thesis of the article is, the web has become to newest music hot spot and it is aimed to serve the younger generation, and Advertisement is also gaining popularity with music and social networking sites. The problem with so many teens socializing over the internet is not entirely understood because we are still in the very beginning stages of social networking era. One thing people are afraid of is the loss of peer to peer relationships. The overuse of social networking will cause the teens of our generation to have artificial relationships. This will lead them to be much more uncomfortable around people because they don’t have the computer screen to hide aspects of there personality or looks that they do not want people to see. People of the older generation’s use these improvements in modern technology simply as a supplement to what they have been accustomed to.
Another form of modern technology that has exploded in the recent years are cell phones. Ten years ago they were as big as my forearm, now they can fit in the palm of my hand. Teens are some of the biggest users of cell phones. They have even invented a new way on socializing known as texting.