At some point in your lives, everyone reading this article has experienced an awkward conversation with someone. Conversations don’t always flow perfectly; those uncomfortable moments of silence can feel endless. However, as technology has evolved, these moments are becoming a thing of the past. Now, when things get uncomfortable, people simply just pull their phones out and stop talking completely. This may seem beneficial to some people—it distracts them, allows them to avoid confrontation, and stops that uncomfortable feeling, but technology preventing these awkward moments has its drawbacks.
While technology has been beneficial in making communication faster and easier than ever before, it has also changed the way people, especially teens, communicate. It may seem harmless, but new technology is affecting our generation negatively. A 2024 study from “Computers in Human Behavior” has found that an increase in social media usage in teens has a direct correlation to a decline in social skills and real-world communication skills among teens. This is a huge problem as real world communication is a skill practiced everyday throughout our lives. Without authentic conversations and just digital ones, teens will struggle in the future to communicate in person with important people such as their co-workers, bosses, friends, and others. During a real conversation, you don’t have time to think of the perfect response to something you’ve been told like you can when you’re texting. Could you imagine how uncomfortable a conversation would be if it took each person a minute to respond? Teens’ overuse of technology to communicate will lead to more of these awkward conversations and uncomfortable moments every day if we do not stop constantly relying on technology to communicate.
As teens and young adults in today’s society, we can make an impact on others our age and prevent this lack of in-person communication. Not all online communication is bad, but too much of it is a problem. Finding a balance between online and in-person communication is key. To make an impact, we need to find this balance for ourselves, then help others find theirs. As Spider-Man was once told by his Uncle Ben, “With great power comes great responsibility” and it’s time for us to use the power of technology responsibly throughout our lives to improve our future, not harm it.