You said it!

      If you're a teenager now, you have probably heard someone tell you that your generation is addicted to technology and/or social media. Although it is true that this generation of people do rely on the use of the internet, it isn't used to the extent that our elders think. I interviewed a senior in high school to get their take on the topic.

     Senior Kaysie W was the student I interviewed about the topic. Kaysie told me that just like many others, she believes that this generation does rely on the use of technology. But as times have changed, so have the ways that people communicate with one another. People will take advantage of what materials they have available to them so if technology is something that is blossoming, more and more people in the generation are likely to jump on the band wagon. Kaysie also believes that with the use of technology and social media combined, that it has helped and will help this generation of young people stay connected. Although there are positives to this, there are always going to be negatives as well. One that Kaysie pointed out was the ability of confrontation. People just aren't capable of having face to face conversations as easily anymore, and that is a result of technology/social media. She feels this is a skill that everyone should possess, and with the changing times, it is hard to tell if there will b any hope for this topic getting any better in the future. Overall, Kaysie believes that technology is a very useful tool that this generation simply couldn't live without. "Technology is awesome. Go Twitter!" said Kaysie. 

Pros vs Cons of smartphones

Pros of smartphones

• convenient
• connection
• easier/faster to communicate
• make to do lists
• monitor appointments/reminders
• calculator
• emails
• games
• contacts
• pictures/videos
• music
• Bluetooth

Cons of smartphones

• constant distraction
• bringing work home
• addiction
• battery life
• less face to face communication
• cyber bullying

How Can Smartphones Enhance Hearing?

      Smartphones may have only been seen as a way to stay connected with others, but smartphones have recently been taken to the next level.Smartphones can now enhance certain senses. In a way, smartphones are still being used as a way for peole to stay connected, but the people that this new technological advance is effecting is a group of people that it didn't effect before. Now the hearing impared will have an easier way to stay connected with others, just like everyone else who uses a smartphone for that purpose.

      A few years back, President Obama signed a bill aiming to ease the use of technology for the disabled. With this new bill, the hearing and seeing disabled, will be able to have easier access to the internet. Obama believes in allowing everyone to be able to experience the newest technology that society allows. He said, "It sets new standards so that Americans with disabilities can take advantage of the technology our economy depends on."

     Richard Einhorn is one of the many who are using this newest technology to his advantage. Einhorn is hearing diabled, and becasue of that he has to wear a hearing aid if he wants to be able to communicate with others. Even with his hearing aid, it is still difficult for him to hear others talking when he is in a crowded room, or is surrounded with a lot of noise. This is where the use of a smartphone comes in. Using an app on his phone, Einhorn is able to hear the people he is talking to a lot clearer. The app enhances the sound of the person talking, and Einhorn can hear a lot better. In order for this to occur, he must first plug in an omnidirectional microphone, as well as a set of headphones. He puts the iPhone on the table, and points it at whoever is speaking to him. The microphone picks up the voices of those around him, and enhances them so he can understand, and hear better. He is also wearing the head phones to emphasize the voices of others.

     With this new advancement in technology, people with disabilities are becoming more and more involved in regular activities. These new inventions are making it easier for people to go about their day as if they didn't have a disability at all. The outlook for smartphones and technology is only increasing in the future.

"Smartphones." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.