What do clothes, education, and cell phones have in common? They’re all essential to a teenager’s life. 

This may sound crazy, but so does this: 88 percent of teenagers ages 12-17 own some sort of phone, and 94 percent of smartphone-owning teens go online daily according to a 2015 study from Pew Research Center.

It is no surprise that our society is becoming more dependent on technology every day, but how is the increasing accessibility to electronics affecting youth? Is connecting to their smartphones causing teens to be disconnected from the rest of the world?

The original telephone was intended for the purpose of communication. Telephones evolved into mobile phones that included texting, and then to smartphones that connect to the internet, take slow motion video and high resolution photos.

Today, smartphones are everywhere and used by everyone, but, believe it or not, there are still people who own “flip phones.”

Annika Gordon, a senior at Whitefish High School, is one of those people, but she isn’t disappointed by her lack of an iPhone. Her personal opinion is that “phones are good for contacting people and staying safe, but it would be cooler if people were in nature more and reading books.”

Not only would be it cooler if people put down their phones, but, for the cell phone “obsessed” types who rely on Snapchat and texting to communicate, their social skills could improve. While phone calls are considered important by teens in order to contact close friends, the Pew Research Center discovered that texting was the most common way teenagers connected with acquaintances.

Some kids just can’t talk on the phone according to senior Jack Brandt.

“It’s anxiety because we don’t call people as much anymore at our age,” he said.

The iconic image of the teenage girl hogging the landline while talking to her boyfriend is now a thing of the past.

Of course, technology isn’t all bad. Cell phones aren’t just full of apps designed to waste time and money. There are benefits to having a smartphone; one being the ability to find information on just about anything, anywhere, at any time.

With many schools switching to online textbooks and sites to submit essays and homework, electronic devices are becoming more frequently used in class and at home for schoolwork.

Gordon feels that we have to accept this technology surge because it’s “apart of our generation” and “a big part of how our society works.”

In Brandt’s opinion, his phone is like “the piece of cake at the end of the meal. It’s there, it’s good, but you don’t have to have it.”

One of the biggest problems with smartphones is the time wasted on social networking apps and taking selfies when there are plenty more productive ways to spend one’s time. Ways that don’t require you to stare at a bright little screen and scroll through meme after meme after meme.

Maybe it’s time we all put down our phones and stare in awe at the HD resolution of nature.

— Cassidy Grady is a senior at Whitefish High School