Phones And Teens

It used to be you go to school, you have a nice day and come back. For some it used to be that maybe you get bullied at school but you get through a day, and when the school day is over you can escape it, your home is refuge from the bullying. Now with phones added into this equation, there is no escape, no matter how far away you are from the bullies they can still get to you. So how safe is it really to own a phone?

Middle school can be a tough time for kids as they are constantly changing, physically and mentally. Most kids are given a phone when they are in middle school. To a kid receiving a phone is like winning a lottery ticket. The main reasons why kids are given a phone is because of safety reasons, it’s a way parents can be aware that their kids are safe wherever they are, but are the kids really safe? Approximately 9 in 10 teens have a phone, and around 1 in 5 are victims of either cyber bullying or text bullying. Only 1 out of 6 adolescents parents are aware of the intensity of cyberbullying, and therefore don’t consider the risk in handing a phone to their child.

Imagine this: You are a pedestrian waiting for the light to go green. In front of you see cars zooming past at full speed. To your right you see that most cars have stopped waiting for the traffic light to go green, in the distance you see car on your right heading straight towards the junction but did not seem like it was in the condition to stop. The driver was a teenage boy was driving his car at full speed but was paying absolutely no attention to the road in front of him as he was on his phone and seemed to be getting distracted. You can guess what this led to next. He drove ahead blindly, and ran a red light, a big truck rammed into the passenger side of his car, and his car rolled over several times, breaking glass and inflating the safety bag. He was dead. If only he was not on his phone. If only he payed attention the the road ahead. If only, but he did not.

Phones have not only made it easier for teens to get bullied but have also led to many driving accidents. 56% of teens have admitted to talking on their phones while driving, and 13% of teens have admitted to texting while driving. According to statistics teenagers are the most involved in car accidents. Irresponsible behaviour such as the one listed above, and lack of respect for the necessary safety precautions have been the main reason for the cause of such accidents.

These are definitely some very significant issues with some teens owning a phone, but is it the phones fault of the teens fault? Do parents need to take aways their kids phone because of these reasons, the answer is no. Michele L. Yabarra of Internet solutions for kids inc. agrees, she said, “There is no reason to become distressed or take kids cell phones away.” there is no reason to get too worried but parents should definitely be more aware of the way their teen uses their phone. Phones were made for communication, now they have become much bigger and have more than 1 purpose but that does not mean that it is okay for people to use their phone irresponsibly. Alongside the parents, teens should also start to take more responsibility, and be more cautious of their phone use. If you are getting bullied via your phone report it to your parents, they can help you. All in all, there is no harm in using a phone as long as you use it safely.

By: Aarushi Sachdeva

Don't Listen to the Stereo

From a young age, we are introduced to a world full of stereotypes. Specifically, gender. The media, our parents, our religion and our society are just some of the aspects that influence our beliefs and in a way, have overtime created gender stereotypes. They can sometimes teach us unideal ways of living. Stereotypes categorise humans into groups that tell us what we are meant act or be like, which in result can make many feel untrue to themselves or like outcasts.

Her life has been set out for her. Finish school, get married, have kids and support the breadwinner of the family.

Noshin is terrified as she overhears her mother on the phone with her grandmother, sobbing one night, saying that her life has been ruined by the men in their family. Her grandmother’s whole life consisted of assisting men and she could hardly be her own person. She didn’t want to live like that anymore. Noshin cries to herself thinking about how unfair her grandmothers life was. “In my country, Bangladesh, women are treated more as maids” said Noshin Saiyaara, 14. “The life of a girl; clean the house, cook and take care of the kids.” This makes it clear that to this day, there are still unequal and stereotypical behaviour in society. This could be because of her religion and that they believe it's right. But is it? Should this be socially acceptable in a society where more and more cultures have grown to be more open about the decisions that women make to become more of equals and not maids?

Noshin told our journalist that she wants change. Her siblings and herself are determined to change the traditions of her family to benefit their lives for the better. “I want to change the routines of my family. I’m not going to sit around and do nothing, I want to work and contribute to my family.” Her experience has empowered her to change their ways, to be who she aspires to be in the future.

From a variety of people that took part in a survey on their thoughts about where stereotypes originated, the most commonly agreed opinion, with more than 50% of the surveyed people, is that stereotypes have been an ongoing tradition for a very long time. For instance, during medieval times there were little to no women as knights and it was the men's job to be chivalrous towards the women. Women were thought to be more delicate so their jobs were often to do housework and cook and maintain the family.

In modern day, we have come to a point where stereotypes have been advertised so much, that they have started to infect more and more of the human species into thinking that they might be true. Isabella Duncan, a student from an 8th grade english class thinks that “Overtime, stereotypes have been reinforced by people with fixed mindsets.” In many ways this is true. Through the people in the media and our society, the message that women and men are different and not equals is very clear statement. You may not realise it, but everyday the commercials you see can have traces of gender stereotypically and it’s hard to realise it because they’re just so common.

Many ideas are reinforced through television to a specific audience. To do this, commercials have to make it relatable to the audience hence, showing things a girl and/or boy would do. In the case study “GENDER STEREOTYPES IN MASS MEDIA” by Malgorzata Wolska, she states “More and more commercials are directed to children. They indicate ‘the proper place’ in the society for girls and boys. Girls are shown as babysitters nursing dolls or cleaning house with a pink cleaning kit, whereas boys do sports or play computer games.” It mentions that most commercials main target audience is children, so the concept of gender stereotypically is already being engraved into their heads. In the future, when they understand how it impacts their identity, they will have a ‘template’ to follow.

Everyone can be affected because of gender stereotypes in many ways. Having to be a certain way and being surrounded by people who support gender stereotypes, can sometimes result in peer pressure and bullying. Life as a middle schooler can be hard, considering that there are lots of pressures with fitting in with others. A middle school student who wished to remain anonymous, tells their story “I am a dancer and a singer and that's what I want to do when I'm older. Ever since I was young, I've been bullied for doing what I like to do. I started hanging out with girls because some of them had the same interests in dance as me or they just understood. I think boys are more disturbed with the stereotype issue and they find it harder to welcome misfits, than girls do.” What is revealed here is that sometimes, people can get peer pressured if they don’t follow a stereotype because it's unfamiliar to others, so the action and person is slightly alienated.

What's strange, is that it's harder for a boy to enjoy something that usually a girl would like, than the other way around, because they usually get picked on by other boys who are more manly. Rhea Goyal’s theory for this is that “In the past, boys have generally been viewed as stronger, smarter etc. while girls were viewed as inferior to boys, so now society says it’s okay for a girl to move up to a boy’s standard, but not okay for boys to move down to a girl’s standard.” It suggests that by being a boy and doing things a girl would do, it would make you less of a man, and that you are admitting to being weak.

Lately there has been less discrimination towards people that happen to go against the grain of a stereotype, but it still happens. If you are someone that is in this situation, know that you are not alone and that there are always going to be people to help and are going through something similar. Its great to be yourself, to be unique. Don’t let stereotypes and hateful comments from others hold back what you desire to be or do. “There shouldn't be any barriers or force, because people's choices are their own,” said Noshin Saiyaara.

Let's imagine that all these concepts have been compiled and put into a stereo. Some of the music could be great, and you like to listen to it, but sometimes there is going to be bad music. People might have different tastes to you, but you don’t need to change your taste to please others.