I recently watched the Louis C.K clip on cell phones (http://teamcoco.com/video/louis-ck-springsteen-cell-phone) that professor Mittell recently tweeted. Upon watching I realized we should be concerned for upcoming generations and how they will develop personal connections. Although my generation may be showing similar signs, I believe we were raised by parents with a different technological mindset. Louis C.K mentions the importance of recognizing facial expressions and how that in turn shapes the way we feel. Calling someone fat in person and watching his or her reaction, he explains, is far different than saying the same thing through text. We learn a lot by feeling emotions, which quite frankly isn’t the same over a phone or computer.

 The basis of his argument stemmed from the decision he had to make on whether or not to get his child a cell phone. Kids are getting phones at a much younger age today than even 5 years ago. I remember getting my first phone when I was 14, and my older brother only got one when he was 16. In today’s world, it would be social suicide to not have a Smartphone by middle school. Children need those years to build strong relationships, explore interests and develop their personality traits. I feel strongly that cell phones and social media take away from that.

My best friends younger brother is 13 and has over 2000 Instagram followers – while following only 200 – and garners roughly 300 likes per picture. He knows maybe 30 of these followers, which causes me to worry for him. He has never met, nor will he ever meet, a majority of the people he communicates and interacts with on a daily basis. To finalize, I don’t think we should eliminate the digital media use of young adolescents because it is a world they will eventually grow up to live in. Instead we should limit their usage, allow them to get the best of both worlds.

– Cam