Yes, you’d be surprised to know that instead of just texting someone “here” we actually would walk up to their door and knock. How crazy!? Then we would actually have to speak and interact with their parents! I know you’d never guess because today it’s nowhere near the same. Being a child before social media and cell phones blew up was so freeing and less stressful. I remember staying out until the street lights came on, hearing my mom calling my name down the street for dinner. Kids actually played outside! Before we could even speak to our friend we’d have to call their home phone and ask their parents to speak to them. Now we get mad at our parents if they just ask who we are texting, while when we were younger they always knew who we were on the phone with.

Of course in bad weather, when we couldn’t go outside, we would watch the best kids shows on Disney and Nickelodeon. Hannah Montana, Drake and Josh, Boy Meets World, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and so many more shows back in the day that were there to teach us things. They taught us about daily struggles in life, within families, and at school that we could relate to. Now they have shows about a family talking dog. You can still find my friends and I having jam sessions to some classic Hannah Montana songs because they have meaning.

Who remembers Tamagotchis, Club Penguin, Webkinz, and all the classic websites like gamesgames.com, where we’d spend our free time playing the roller coaster game for hours. Now you see this generation walking around with fidget spinners and even elementary schoolers are on social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Why’s everyone growing up so fast and why are we letting them?

Technology holds the good, the bad, and the ugly and within today’s world, I see more bad than good. Technology has made a change to life as we once knew it, mostly within the younger generations. When I was a child I did not receive a phone until 7^th grade, which was one with a slide up keyboard. The only thing it was good for was texting and calling. It wasn’t until my freshman year of high school when I finally received my first iPhone. By that time, even middle schoolers had one and some children even younger. When I was younger and would get into trouble my mom would ground me from going outside, but today parents just take away kid’s phones as punishment. Even my 3-year-old nephew gets angry if we take away his iPad or if we will not let him have our phones.

It’s safe to say everyone has become very dependent on their devices, whether they be phones, laptops, or other gadgets. I won’t lie, there isn’t many times during the day where you will see me without one of mine. Sadly, that is just how things have become. Just wish the social media aspect didn’t bring such bad results into today’s society.