In her essay “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation,” an award-winning San Diego State faculty member has been studying generational differences for over 20 years comparing the personality traits of baby boomers, millennials, and GenZ. Jean M Twenge reflected on the effects Smartphones had on teenagers in their behaviors while it made them extremely unhappy. Twenge forms the challenges with smartphones, their effects on teenagers, and digging into if they truly destroyed a generation. 

Twenge describes the Igen classifications as what could be considered, “If you spend more than an hour a day texting, started driving after you were seventeen, didn’t work during high school, and spent a lot of time in your bedroom as a teen, there’s a good chance you are,” (Twenge, 528) Although these are daily things that teenagers do now, it seemed that these concepts and daily activities are considered Igen traits in ways that teenagers would not see it, as it’s normal to spend hours on your phone a day on social media or texting. 

Twenge compared how her summers were in 1980 to what she saw now with 13-year-old Athena, who has had a smartphone since she was 11. “More often, Athena and her friends spend time together on their phones, unchaperoned. Unlike the teens of my generation, who might have spent an evening tying up the family landline with gossip, they talk on Snapchat, the smartphone app that allows users to send pictures and videos that quickly disappear.” (Twenge 529) Thinking of how times had changed, Twenge noticed a shift in the emotional behavior seen by teens. Even notice characteristics that I’ve changed with millennials which are the age group older than the Igen, GenZ kids. “The biggest difference between the Millennials and their predecessors was in how they viewed the world; teens today differ from the Millennials not just in their views but in how they spend their time. The experiences they have every day are radically different from those of the generation that came of age just a few years before them.” (Twenge 530) 

Twenge noticed that the use of technology is not going to go away, and restricting it could be unrealistic based on the generation's use of technology and specifically iPhones. Mentioning how her three daughters are very young, and still know how to use the technology even when it’s not given to them. “They’re not yet old enough to display the traits of iGen teens, but I have already witnessed firsthand just how ingrained new media are in their young lives. I’ve observed my toddler, barely old enough to walk, confidently swiping her way through an iPad. I’ve experienced my 6-year-old asking for her cell phone. I’ve overheard my 9-year-old discussing the latest app to sweep the fourth grade.” (Twenge 545). 

Thoughts of the Phone 

“‘Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation”’ connected closely with ideas and issues that perceive technology in 2023. The topic of smartphones, and seeing if it does destroy a generation kept me intrigued throughout the whole essay. I enjoyed the connections Twenge made involving teenagers and what they do in their free time in this day and age versus when she was their age. It allowed the readers and the author herself to see the complete difference in how 20 years has changed things drastically. Twenge made the characters in this essay very relatable, as reading this, some of those things I did, when I was 13 are the same things read in the story.

Something that stuck out to me the most in this essay was towards the end when she brought up her children. When she wrote the story, she had younger children that weren’t exposed to their cell phones and only saw them from their parents. She then brought up the fact that they knew how to use phones and other technology and asked when they could get phones, I witnessed this as well. I was a nanny for two years with a family and noticed even when I would respond to their mom for a text message they would directly draw their eyes to my phone, wanting to go on it and not engaging in the other activities. 

This essay was a delight to read as it connects with what everyone deals with now over a multitude of generations, and seeing how the change has affected people positively or negatively with the excessive use of phones. After reading this, I will take into consideration, noticing how much I spend on my phone personally while trying to engage in other activities away from my phone that are 100% more important.

Work Cited 

Jean M Twenge. “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation” 2017. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, edited by Gary Colombo et al., 12th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2022, pp. 528-546.