by Nick Palmarine |

In the world of evolving technology, teenagers look to social media to keep up with their increasingly fast paced lives. Long phone calls and AIM are things of the past; most teens now rely on texting and tweeting.

With high demand for the new ‘it’ thing, technology has become a world of its own. Cell phones are not only used for phone calls and text messages anymore as they can be used to surf the net, check some scores, or write whatever is on your mind for the world to see. It is safe to say that technology has taken over the lives of everyone, especially teenagers.

“I spend way too much time a day on sites like twitter and tumblr,” senior Courtney Gartner said.

Gartner is not the only teenager who  spends time on social media sites each day. Not only are teenagers able to access their favorite sites from computers at school and at home, they can access these sites from their cell phones at any time of the day for easier and quicker results.

“I have my phone with me at school,” junior Erin Kiely said. “So I probably spend a lot more time than I realize on these sites.”

We have seen many technological advances over the years, which are causing problems in some aspects of our society. Suddenly, printed newspapers have become old news; most newspapers such as the New York Times and Boston Globe have turned to the internet to get news out faster and more efficiently. Newspapers, however, are not the only thing evolving. Ten years ago; cell phones were big blocks that could not even fit in a person’s pocket. Now we have phones so light and tiny that breaking one is common.

The technology advances  seen in recent years have caused the rise of social media. People want to connect with old friends, family members, and celebrities, social media is the most convenient way to stay up to date.

When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook the world was taken by a storm. Everyone wanted one. As quickly as the need for a Facebook hit the world, so did the want for yet another new networking site. Twitter came around and Facebook was quickly replaced.

  “I think Twitter has taken over Facebook because it’s easier to connect with,” sophomore Ashley Rocco said. “And people just like to be able to connect with celebrities.” 

  It seems it is only a matter of time before the ‘new’ social site launches and Twitter quickly becomes another thing that people used to have. With the amount of technological items we have in today’s society, one can only wonder what it will be like in ten years. There is no doubt that the way people connect in ten years will be mind-boggling, perhaps there will be holograms or quick transporting from one spot in the world to another to see whoever one wants to see. This also makes one wonder if the technology and the way we connect will somehow negatively affect future societies.

  “There will definitely be a negative effect in the future,” Gartner said, “think about how much we depend on this stuff now, it will end up being the only thing we depend on.” 

  Although, the negative effects, such as declining communication skills, social media and less face-to-face interactions, cannot be ignored, the positives must also be considered. Social media has definitely been the greatest advancement in our society today. Things that used to take days or even weeks now happen in a matter of minutes. 

   With positives comes negatives, and there are many negatives in the world of social media. Social media has helped people connect in ways unfathomed in the past. The advancements in the technology used today and the way people connect with one another has become just another guilty pleasure in today’s society.