Smartphones and the Generation Gap

Eric Lugo-Lopez, Staff Writer

Smartphones are very popular and, as you read this, somebody is out there creating a better version of what you are using now.

Smartphones are everything to teens and young people in today’s world. In fact, according to Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank, nearly two-thirds of Americans own Smartphones, and about 19% rely to some degree on Smartphones in order to stay connected to society around them. A Smartphone can be used for many tasks such as going on Snapchat to look at how your friends’ days are going. Also, you can just stop by Twitter to look at what’s going on with your friends and society and, while you’re there, stop by Vine to have the laugh of the day and, last but not least, go on Instagram, which is most famous to teens for looking at pictures and videos of their friends and double tap to like it.

However, when it comes to technology, there is definitely a generation gap. Residents at Riderwood, a retirement-living village, just laugh when they are passing through a group of teenagers with phones in their faces. To them, I want to belive it’s funny  because, back in their day, it was all about interaction with one another, and the teens they encounter seem always to be glued to a screen. Even when these elderly folks have some free time, they are used to playing cards, drawing, or just walking around, not spending time on Instagram and Snapchat.