If you asked young people nowadays what the object they can’t leave without is, what do you think the answer would be?

Well, I don’t have to use my magic powers to guess that your answer is likely to be almost unanimous. Their mobile phone is the most indispensable possession for teenagers and young people, in general.

But how have these devices come to mean so much to people? What are the opportunities they offer which make them irresistible not only to teenagers but also to their parents? And, on the other hand, can this obsession with mobile phones have negative impacts on our physical, mental or psychological health? In what way are our relationships with others affected by them?

Activities

• Think about the above questions and reflect upon them on your notebook. Brainstorm ideas for discussion.

• Make a list on the board of the positive and negative effects mobile phones have on a teenager’s life.

• Read the article on Cellphones and unhealthy side effects from The Washington Times and talk about any ideas introduced in the text that you haven’t thought of so far.
  • What are the specific pieces of advice that the writer gives to counteract these negative consequences?

• Watch Sherryl Turkle’s talk on TED2012 and discuss the following questions:
  • What are the three illusions we have when we use our smart phones?
  • What does she want to demonstrate when she uses the phrase “I share, therefore I am”?
  • Why does she believe that solitude is a state we shouldn’t avoid?

• Write an essay on the positive and negative impacts of mobile phones on teenagers. In what way is their social life really influenced by them?