OPINION PIECE

Daniela Tavera
RWS 2

OPINION PIECE
Every single person, to some extent, has the need to feel connected with someone. Its
imbedded into the mind, and humans cannot live without feeling some sort of connection. With
the recent advancement in technology, being able to stay connected to one another and stay on
top of the latest trends has caused us to become nomophobic, which is having the fear of being
without a mobile device (Cheever 2014) and become increasingly dependent on our
technological devices. Since we have access to the internet almost 100% of the time in our daily
lives how could we not become attached to our mobile devices? Its hard enough as it is to be
away from a loved one when they are far away, and with all the possibilities of communication it
is clear that we will continue to become more absorbed into cyber space.
Not only does this new technology allow us to stay connected all the time, but it also
increases our need to have immediate responses. Our patience has been steadily declining
throughout the years and is only going to continue to decline the more we crave the fastest
internet out there. You see this everywhere you go, in line to buy something people are always
wanting to go to lane with the least amount of people. Even if there is nothing else to do on that
day, you will still see people getting anxious waiting in line. What about when someone is not
answering their phones or the text messages that arent urgent and needing a reply right away? It
is so important for us to get a quick response and to respond quickly that in an extreme but
common example, we put our lives in danger when we text while driving. All over there are
commercials or billboards to not text while driving because studies show that your 23 times more
likely to get into an accident according to WAPT news. Alexandra Rhoden was interviewed on
WAPT news article said that she texts while driving because she doesnt like to make anyone
wait, that maybe they need her.

OPINION PIECE
She is not the only one with this feeling to communicate and answer back everyone
immediately and it is mostly because we expect the same from everyone who we connect with.
Adolescents are the ones that struggle the most with over use or addiction to technological
advances. The most common reason given as to why people who range from the ages of 18-24
are the most frequent internet and mobile device users is because they were born with all this
new technological advancement all around. They have also continued to grow and develop in
this technology era. However, another possible idea could be that because those are the years
when people figure out who they are and fully mature and develop a sense of self, they are able
to communicate to those who the identify themselves with more making it easier to conform.
Thus leading them to be the ones that use their mobile devices more.
Though for other age groups conforming and communicating is important, it isnt as
critical, because they are either too young to truly understand or question what being an
individual means, or mature enough to realize that not being a part of something isnt the end of
the world. Regardless of the reason, there should be more studies done on being able to find a
way to make people feel just as connected with one another without the addiction to the mobile
devices or internet trending sites so that the younger generation doesnt become one of robotic
drones with miniature drones attached to their faces 24/7.

OPINION PIECE

RESOURCES
Brown, H. (2015, May 5). Texting while driving can turn deadly. Retrieved May 9, 2015, from
http://www.wapt.com/whos-accountable/texting-while-driving-can-turn-deadly/32794884

Cheever, N., Rosen, L., Carrier, L., & Chavez, A. (2014). Out of sight is not out of mind: The
impact of restricting wireless mobile device use on anxiety levels among low, moderate
and high users. Computers and Human Behavior, 37, 290-297. Retrieved March 14,
2015, fromhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/sciencw/article/pii/s0747563214002805