Teenagers are currently facing an issue unlike any other generation before them and the severity of the issue will only increase substantially in the future. The constant use of technology is causing a change in the teenage population in the world, by giving teenagers new skills but depriving them of essential skills that previous generations have learned. This is a current issue that will only worsen with the new improvements of technology and new innovations. Yesterday’s generations; for example fifty years ago, did not rely on technology to help them through the day. They had a different way of life that is almost foreign to generations today and this older way is essentially becoming extinct. Children are born into a society where there is no need to memorize phone numbers, passwords, dates, and important information because technology reminds them of these vital pieces of information. The old way of writing things down and remembering information is borderline dissolved, unless adults begin to teach the older way to the newer population. This teaching is key for the survival of the future because children and youth are losing key skills in life. The solution to this concern is to create an absolute perfect balance between technology and necessary skills. This is a simple procedure to ensure that youth are maintaining their technological skills and gaining imperative learning, and social intelligence.

 

Throughout this technological evolution numerous skills were lost, making the younger generations unaware to the fact that life used to be lived differently and was unaffected by the internet. Social skills are mainly affected because of the invention of cellphones and social media. With cell phones there is no need to to have conversations face to face, instead people call, text, or snapchat each other; although the knowledge of knowing how to converse with another individual in the physical world is a necessary skill to posses. Emotional skills have also been damaged, for example; empathy, ambition, and patience. There are times where teens refrain from making decisions based on their future because they lack ambition; ambition is the key to ensure that people will achieve what they desire in life however, technology has distracted them from this by saturating their free time with the use of online games and social media. Patience has also been lessened by the perpetual presence of high speed internet and immediate access to news from around the world. The invention of the internet has had a constant effect on individuals from all generations. Patience is a skill that is looked for in many jobs although youth are not gaining this skill not because there is no one teaching it but because it is a skill that goes along with completing the task. Empathy is a skill that is attached with social abilities because in order to understand other people's feeling, a person must know how to react and have physical conversations with each other. Empathy is a dying skill relating back to a large amount of youth that discuss only online with their peers, but this issue is broader than just peers, younger people are not as likely to sit down with elderly people; this could be the start to reproducing empathy in children again. Furthermore insufficient concentration is something that has derived from the overuse of modern day internet, poor concentration has been produced by the constant need to be on social media while attempting to complete other tasks. Complete concentration is a vital skill that ensures that one task is completed to the best of a person's ability, instead of three of the tasks only being half completed. To finalize, children and youth have been deprived of the former practices from prior generations due to modern technology.

 

Although there are multiple skills that have been destroyed from technology, there have been a growth of applicable skills in association to the development of the internet. Flexibility and adaptability are considered a growing skill in relation to new phenomenon because it supplies students with the ability to quickly adapt by using prior knowledge that was learned from the use of technology. Moreover, teens are able to become more self directed and achieve a sense of initiative by being given the opportunity to practice and evaluate on their own time, by doing this, youth may feel more confidence in their work and choices because they are required to think on their own. To go even more in depth, technology gives youth the chance to plan and track their schedule, and important dates using programs and apps that are available to them on their phone or tablet. Employers are seeking this skill in order for their staff to be organized are appear on time for work. The ability to interact with others is also gained from technology because teenagers can contact people throughout the world and also provides an antidote for being unable to contact family members that live in outreached places on the globe. Another skill that technology forms is the capacity to to be able to complete assignments as a team with other individuals. Teens who can develop this skill will have a better opportunity at succeeding in employment because teamwork is a valued element of working. Finally, there is an over abundance of skills that are created with the presence of technology, not every skill produced from the internet is repugnant.

 

One possible way to correct this concern is to adjust the educational system’s curriculum to aid in providing more practice with utilizing these desired skills. A change in the school system would reshape the minds of the youth by inserting a greater amount of social and emotional classes. These class’s are not nearly present enough in school and these classes would help build a student's stability of emotions and help in providing tips and advice in how to deal with problems like bullying, assault, and stress. This is similar to health class but this should be mandatory for all students to attend. Also adding social classes to the curriculum will assist teaching teenagers and children the skills they should know relating to observing other people and understanding other individuals. This should create less tension between peers and individuals which in turn will support the need of more socializing skills and help create a beginning base to the structure of society’s future. If school boards adapt the work that is given to the students, they will likely observe a change in students social skills, and emotional wellbeing, which will provide youth an increased well balanced life.