The New Addiction: Phones Are the New Drug

Teenagers today have their phones in their every move. Whether it’s texting friends, sending selfies over Snapchat, or taking photographs to post for their many followers to see, our generation is experiencing the new and undefined addiction to social media. Not only do teenagers spend less time doing important things, but our mental health can greatly decline due to the stress and anxiety that is created by the pressure this addiction exacerbates. Teenagers are less experienced with direct face-to-face social interaction and their self-images rely mainly on others opinions.

Within the three pictures I captured, the first one conveys that students who are at the library to study cannot even get their task done because of their phones distracting them. Notice, too, how the two are sitting across from each other, but it’s almost as if they are unaware they are not alone, nor could they care less, because they are wrapped up in their screen. I emphasized the kid on the right’s smile because he seems pleasured by his phone and almost as if its therapeutic. The second picture is my mother and my sister before we go to dinner and are waiting for our Uber to arrive. The two are standing next to each other, not saying anything. Both are invested in their phones portraying it’s not only our generation who is involved with phones. My parents, too, even though they did not grow up with it, still have been exposed to the addiction. My mom can be seen with her ipad in bed all day. I made sure to add the reflection of the screen on my sister’s face to portray the image’s importance.

The third photograph is my classmate trying her best to do work, but she is distracted and I conveyed her face in her hand, reacting to what is going on. Also, if you zoom in, you can see many notifications on her screen that have made her upset, further emphasizing the point I am trying to reveal. We are addicted and something needs to be done.