Jessy Lau's Progress book

UNDERSTANDING
THE DISORDERS AND
THEIR SYMTOMS
Antisocial behaviors are disruptive acts characterized by covert and
overt hostility and intentional aggression toward others. Between 4 and 6
million American children have been identified with antisocial behavior problems
and gender differences in antisocial behavior patterns are evident as
early as age three or four. What makes it worse is that touchscreen phones,
tablets, and laptops are introduced so early on in our generation, that before
we have enough time to discover certain disorders a child might have,
we have already placed them in an unhealthy setting. According to a recent
study by International Center for Media & the Public Agenda (ICMPA), 75
percent of children and teens spent their waking hours fixed on a screen.
Studies have also shown that students who are left without their devices for
24 hours, feel helpless and do not know how to feel up their time properly.
Generation Z has not learned how to develop our minds without relying on
technology and social media. The prominent role of social media is very
complex because it both increased and decreased the progress in human
communications according to The Daily Universe article.
Because technology makes everything happen immediately, we start
to develop a sense of anxiety when we cannot make something happen
right then and there. We have an expectation that everything must occur
whenever we shall desire, which promotes stress when it does not happen.
These problems are making a way into society, and social media is no longer
just a social activity, but is a way of life.
Technology is all about nonverbal communication, instead of verbal
communications. I believe verbal communications are crucial to human
development, especially face-to-face communication. Although nonverbal
communication can reveal more about a human’s emotions, it can only be
done so in person instead of online. These nonverbal cues that we are not
developing properly can seriously skew a child’s relationship with others as
he or she grows up in a technology-inclusive setting. Relationships are so
crucial as humans are social creatures. It is in our nature to crave human
interaction, which technology cannot replace. Children these days may
be more reliant on their electronics and less reliant on human interactions
based on my own experience. They turn to social media as a source of social
interactions, but they may still feel like they do not have anyone to talk
to or rely on. An example of these occurrences may be Instagram-famous
teenager Nate Garner who has millions of followers, yet has stated that he
does not have friends. Garner stated, “Social media has [made] me become
a loner [in the real world]. It got so bad, being so lonely, I would just go to
my guidance counselor during lunch.”
According to Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California
State University, one out of every five children feel the need to use technology
and that for every minute they are on electronics, an equivalent of five
minutes can be spended on other interactive activities such as playing with
toys that promote creativity and calming activities that can soothe an overactive
brain.