When Steve Jobs announced the creation of one of, if not the most revolutionary invention in modern history, aside from the Macintosh computer, he ushered in a brand new era of communication amongst others. On January 9th, 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled the IPhone. SInce then their have been 19 other models of the device, each new one with added features and variations in size. The invention of supposedly the most influential device in modern history has made itself the forefront factor in ushering in a whole new generation of children as well as being adapted by those who were used to living in a society without it. Although the invention of the IPhone may seem like it came only with positive additions to society, this is not the case in the minds of some people, especially parents. Parents believe that it is not such a good thing that their children have their faces glued to the screen all day. Some have even thought about limiting the amount of time that their children spend on their phones. Teenagers are extremely affected by this argument, as they are the ones who have been singled out for creating this issue. Parents believe that teens are not being productive on their phones, which is sometimes true, but most of the time is not. Parents nowadays don’t understand that having a phone and being on social media is a necessity in teenagers social lives because when they were growing up they didn’t have the technology, that their kids have today, Because of this, parents shouldn’t limit the amount of time that their teenagers spend on their phones.

Parents should not have to limit the amount of time that their teens spend on their phones. Teens will feel that their parents don’t trust them to make their own decisions and will feel that their parents will always be hovering over them and that they have no freedom. For example, suppose that your teen is texting a friend of theirs about something and they start laughing, and you leaned over their shoulder to see what was so funny. The natural reaction of your child would be to cover their phone from you and go into another room. This is because they felt that you were invading their privacy when you looked over their shoulder to read the text chain. You would feel the same way if your child did this to you. Telling your child to put their phone away while their in the middle of a conversation would not be the correct way to deal with this situation and it goes the same way if your child told you to put your phone away. Rather than being hypocritical about the problem afoot, a fair resolution to this would be to simply just ask your child what they were texting about on the phone after they put they have finished with their conversation, instead of telling them to put their phone away. 

Another complication that has risen due to the Iphone is that parents will often install tracking devices inside their teenagers’ phone. This action taken by the parents goes back to the theme of invasion of privacy, and can possibly lead to the child being picked on by their peers for having to be tracked so that their parents always know where they are. Although this might appear to be a positive addition to some teens, knowing that their parents will know where to go if their kid is in trouble or hurt and needs help, it can also create tension between a teenager and their parents because they will feel that they are not trusted by them. If they feel that they can’t trust those who should be trusted the most, this may lead to the teen to develop trust issues as an adult. For example, suppose you are out with a group of your friends and you are walking through a neighborhood that is not necessarily the safest but you know that you are with a group of people and are aware of your surroundings. All of the sudden you receive a text message from your mom that reads “You shouldn’t be walking around that neighborhood at night! I am coming to pick you up!” Your mom arrives shortly after and tells you to get in the car and she takes you home. While on the ride home, your mother lectures you about how it was not safe to be walking around in that neighborhood late at night. Although what she was saying might have been true, you still argue back at her for embarrassing you in front of your friends like that. You bring up the point that you don’t feel trusted enough by your parents to be able to make your own decisions and to be able to take responsibility of your actions. In order for you to be able to have these freedoms you say to your mom that she has to learn to trust you. A way that you could possibly be able to get your parents to trust you to be responsible would be to tell them what you are doing, where you are going, and who you are going to be with. 

Although parents nowadays may have adapted to modern technology such as Iphones and laptops, and even use these devices to great extent whether it be to do work or to google something that they might be unsure about, they have not yet adapted to the mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of their children who are growing up with all of this advanced technology. When they were growing up they had to either go over to their friends house to tell them something or call them on the telephone and ask them if they want to go to the arcade, whereas nowadays all kids need to do to make a plan is simply send a text to their friends that says “wanna hang?” Parents shouldn’t have to take away their childs’ devices just to say “when I was growing up we didn’t have that” simply because they aren’t quite used to it.

In conclusion, parents should not be limiting the amount of time their child spends on their devices. This is especially true nowadays given the circumstances we are all currently living in with the COVID-19 pandemic. Parent should actually looking at all of the positives that have come technology during the pandemic because their children use these devices to communicate with one another and stay involved with whats going on in such a time of distress. Fair solutions to these issues for both points of view on the situation would be, for a parent, to be able to trust your child with their phones and how they use them, and for a teenager, would be to let your parents know where you are or what your are doing with your phone as a sign of maturity. These issues are all problems that need to be resolved one way or another before they lead to other problems for the teenager in the future. Rather than viewing the phone as a negative, parents should recognize that the reason why their children are so heavily invested in using their phones is because of the fact that they are used in order to keep in touch with other people. What parents need to understand is that when their teenager is on their phone minding their own business, they are relaxed and most importantly they are happy, and that is exactly why parents should not be limiting the amount of time that their teenagers spend on their phones or any other devices. When Steve Jobs unveiled the first Iphone on January 9th, 2007, he not only ushered in a new era of technology, he also ushered in a new generation of children full of energy and positivity.