Dauray 1

Gavin Dauray

Mr. Pfeiffer

English III, Period 2

8 May 2024

Are we real?

Part I: November, 2023

Standing elevated, I watched as my parents entered the outback steakhouse laughing because of

how good we were going to eat tonight. With the sight of how many people were inside I knew it was

time to play the waiting game. Tonight was my 17th birthday and I was in no mood to wait a full hour to

sit at my dinner throne.

Standing in line, I started to ramble about how good their signature “Kookaburra Wings” were,

but before I could tell my parents, they had already dosed off to the bathroom to wash their hands and

check out the rest of the restaurant. They left me to save our spot in line so we could check in and just

maybe get ourselves a table.

As I was standing alone, I started to think about how dumb I look, sticking out of the crowd with

nothing to do or nobody to talk to, So I pulled out my phone. Doing this I felt like there was nothing

anyone could think about me, since anybody wouldn’t know what I was doing. Maybe they thought I was

texting someone or looking at something but really, I was looking at my grades and checking my

instagram.

I questioned why I was forcing myself to use my phone to avoid being criticized in the mind of

someone else, is this what seemed normal? As my family got back we all sat down, waiting in the chairs

located next to the entrance and I looked around to see a familiar sight, people heads down staring at their
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entertainment filled screens. Some of the people were even kids so it would be weird to think that this

was normal. Some time had passed as I was watching everyone do their own thing until our name gets

called up for a table.

“Hooray!” was my cheering expression.

Once we got to our table and ordered, I began to make a house with the beer coasters they

supplied us at our table, which were square so I was able to stack them and have fun with them. As I

began to settle down, I looked to my left across the room to see a toddler with its legs kicking in

distraught and crying for an unknown reason,

So I said, “Probably because it's not playing a game”. And right after I said that the dad pulls out

an iPhone15+ and hands it to the weeping toddler! And 3 seconds later he stops crying! What the heck?

What would humanity do without phones?

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Part II: Figuring out the phones.

Seeming as if I actually wanted to know more about this, I dove deeper into the reason why

people actually love using their phones so much, it started to make sense. When people use apps such as

“Instagram, Snapchat”, or any other app that includes messaging other people you know, it starts to get

addicting, not because technology is cool and all that no, its because you start seeing other people, for

example posting stories, having a good time somewhere maybe with a friend and people what you know,

and in return, you start overtime reflecting on yourself. You want to feel as if you are a part of something

and all the fun that they're having so YOU start posting. And sometimes when youre doing this you will

experience dissatisfaction in yourself and identity issues. All of this contributes to a phenomenon called

“The fear of missing out” where you constantly want to know what all of your friends are doing just so

you can stay caught up in the system. If you continue to do this you will most likely escalate in stress over

time. Most of the research I described has the most affection for teenagers, but what about the youth? As

described in my outback scenario, that dad used his phone to shut his baby up! Research suggests that

using a phone as a pacifier might interrupt their social and emotional development. This also can affect

their language, learning and attention span! Good lord who would do this to their child! And on the road

of having a bad life using technology, having a conversation face to face with another person while on

your phone can lead to the other person feeling neglect and dissatisfaction, leading to a worser

relationship. On the bright side, staying loyal to yourself and others, using limited screen time and doing

productive things on your phone can lead to a better satisfaction in your life. Setting boundaries in a

relationship with another person with a smartphone can result in a tighter bond. As my mind consumed all

of this I felt as if I had just learned the truth about discipline in the present world. Phones seem to be the

main source of losing control in yourself and your character. So that being said, Be yourself.
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Works Cited

Phillips, Casey. “How Smartphones Revolutionized Society in Less than a Decade.” How

Smartphones Revolutionized Society in Less than a Decade, GovTech, 23 Apr. 2021,

www.govtech.com/products/how-smartphones-revolutionized-society-in-less-than-a-

decade.htm.

Ehrenkrona, Marika. “How Mobile Phones Have Changed Our Lives .” How Mobile

Phones Have Changed Our Lives, Ericsson, 7 Feb. 2005, www.ericsson.com/en/about-

us/history/communication/how-the-telephone-changed-the-world/how-mobile-phones-

have-changed-our-lives.
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Part III: My Reflection on the Truth

After I had finished researching about one of the most common struggles I felt as if I uncovered a

hidden truth about today's society. I realized phones weren't just handy devices, they were molds that

shaped our identities, relationships and even our future. As I thought about my own habits, how many

times I reach for my phone in a day, it is a reflex as a sign of boredom or discomfort. And what did using

social media all of the time do for me? It only dragged me toward wasting time and being unproductive.

And with a new understanding, I will resolve to be mindful of how I use my phone. With this I could take

control over my life and tighten my relationships with others. Setting these boundaries and cutting out the

digital noise will make my moments a lot simpler. It feels good having a sense of clarity that not using my

phone all the time would bring me joy living life in an authentic way. And It's not the device that has the

power, it's the way you use it having a more mindful approach to technology. Because don't get me wrong

there are the ups and downs of having a phone but we still need to be aware of the unproductiveness that

can come out of a phone and into our day. So if i were to meet someone with the same struggles, I would

tell them to take a step back from the phone, and remember that they are more valuable than the sum of

their notifications. Reconnect with yourself and the people around you. And you will find that true, pure

experience beyond the screen. To use a phone productively, collaborate with others, use learning apps or

anything that involves you learning something. A fun way to use your phone would be to listen to a

podcast. Overall, Doing this presentation opened up the way I think about social media and how I live

my life. Before phones were a daily addiction to waste time scrolling on social media, while now I can be

productive and motivate others to be the same as well. I can now find ways to enhance my life with a

phone rather than to detract from it. My life will be well balanced. After I had my presentation I was glad

that I was able to wake everyone up even just for a second. Because with the devastating truth, the rest of

the classmates on some level, were able to agree that phones have changed the way we think and process

information. The impact I made on other people's minds satisfied me.

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SCRIPT(not really)

Are you guys smart? Can you complete a simple task?

Jc, Jace and Dylan come on up!

Your job is to do your task while 1. Not talking 2, no looking at the class and 3. No moving any
part of your body but your arms

*after the experiment *

As we observed the volunteers doing the puzzles, it is proved that you need problem solving
abilities to get through hard situations. However, what if something could disturb our critical
thinking skills?

Let's go back to a time where i started fiercely wondering

I was at the outback steakhouse on my 17th birthday and when we started to wait for a table my
family went to the bathroom.

As I was standing alone and looking at my surroundings I noticed something strange.

Everybody was looking at their phones without a care of who and what was around them. Only
as if they couldn't stop looking at whatever they were looking at.

When we sat down at our table and started eating their bread and butter, I heard what sounded
like a baby crying. I look over to my left and i see a mother and a father with their child crying
inn the baby chair. I thought they would bring out a pacifier but then the father hands the baby
an IPhone 15+!

And within 5 seconds the baby was silenced!

Then I thought to myself What would we do without phones?

But the bigger question is: How have phones changed humanity?

Let's figure it out everybody take out your phones were doing another experiment with the whole
class

Everyone get on a scrolling app and on my mark scroll 5 times

Can you remember the 1st video you watched?

And you might be asking yourself why can't i remember? There are 3 main things that contribute
to us being like this
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1. Mindlessly scrolling for a long period of time,

2. Lacking Attention to the mass amount of content that we watch which makes our attention
span worse and
3. Endlessly feeding the unlimited amounts of videos that we can watch provided by the
addictive apps.

And not only does scrolling and being on our phones affect our ways of attention, it can have an
affect on our daily lives.