When people think of this generation, they think of how we are always on our phones oblivious to the world around us. They think of laziness, and they think of how we do not have any real communication skills.

    Unfortunately, a lot of these things are true, but looking at what our generation actually accomplishes can show a whole different perspective. Yes, we do use technology. We are constantly on our phones. What people do not realize is that not only do we know how to work technology better than the average adult, but we understand it and how it affects everyone.

    “Technology has a positive effect on us because it’s easier for us to expand our knowledge,” said Megan Furlong, junior.

    We understand that our phones are not just something to play on but they are also something to learn on. We gain important knowledge when we use our technology to research and study. We have all been in that situation when we are studying and doing homework from our phones, but our parents get mad because to them, it looks like we are just texting. When we close the doors of our room after the school day, we are not closing the doors on the world like most would think. We are scrolling through our Facebook news feed and researching. We are gaining knowledge about what is going on in our communities.

     The most popular way teens use technology is for social media; we are always interacting. Yes, it is over the internet and not personal, but do adults still go visit their friends from back in high school? How do they stay in touch with the people they met in college? Social media helps teens stay in touch with old friends. Our generation will always grow up keeping in touch with our friends lives instead of just letting them drift away.

     “I feel like it benefits our learning and it enables us to socialize with our peers,” said Emily Max, junior.

    Our entire generation is built around technology, and the people watching us use have been misinformed. The iPhone Christmas commercial called ‘Misunderstood’ explains the great things that we accomplish with technology. The commercial shows a family getting together for the holidays and a teen boy who conveys the appearance of being consumed in his iPhone and not spending time with his family.

    A review from ViralViralVideos describes the boy’s actions as being “stuck in virtual reality.” The commercial ends with the boy hooking his phone up to the TV in front of the whole family and sharing with them what he has been doing on his phone the whole time. From the outside it looked like he was unconcerned with the family activities when instead he was making an emotional home video of his family’s Christmas that they will have forever.

     We are on our phones for the majority of the day, but what that means is we are also communicating with people for the majority of the day. We are always growing in knowledge. Teenagers now have better opportunities for jobs and education since we are so exposed to technology. We are constantly learning new things.This generation is not just laying on the couch addicted to cell phones, it is just misunderstood.