Distracted by Distractions

Distracted
by Distractions

“Distracted
from distraction by distraction” (T. S Eliot). What
does it mean? Throughout countless years humans have been able to
communicate with one another virtually on a grand scale; through the
course of time, many of us have managed to make social media a habit
in our daily lives. According to the Pew Research Center, “around
seven-in-ten Americans use social media to connect with one another,
engage with news content, share information and entertain
themselves.” Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and
even Snapchat are among the many social networks available today.
There is no doubt that the United States has become innovative over
the years; however, individuals can easily get carried away with what
lies beneath their fingertips.

In
the present day and age, technology has increased drastically. All
the knowledge needed to succeed is handed to us on a touch screen
device. In past years, individuals communicate with one another
through face-to-face interactions. If you wanted to see you best
friend Rachel you would call her through the home phone to see if she
was home, then drive there to go meet up.  With technological
advancements we have accomplished anyone has the ability to text
their best friend or family member while they are working,
babysitting, or driving. Texting while driving has become an epidemic
the current generation is faced with. The biggest group affected by
the current problem are adolescents. Evidence has shown any handheld
device utilized while being behind the wheel has caused catastrophic
accidents.

Adolescents
of all ages have grown up with technology, and they have lost social
skills needed for the workforce, they have also become insecure due
to insufficient interactions they make face-to-face. This leads them
to look at their phones every time they get a text or a like on
Instagram.  The only way to eradicate this is by relaying the
message to parents to take action. Parents could supply cell phones
or other devices to their children at a later age so that they don’t
become so attached to it. Over time they wouldn’t need instant
gratification from text message or a like on social media. This
method would lead to a domino effect, because when they grow up and
get their driver license they won’t need to look at their phones
and respond to a text, post, tweet, like…etc.

Furthermore,
if that tactic doesn’t work parent could train their children not to
get distracted easily. This can be done by taking away the thing
distracts them the most. When parents teach their children how to
drive they can make them create safe rituals and over time they will
become habits. When I first learned how to drive, my parents made me
get in the car, put on my seatbelt, then I had to take my phone and
put it in the glove department, then I would start the car. Over
time, it just became natural because I had received the same action
so many times that if I didn’t do it I felt off. Other parents across
the world couldn’t implement the same thing when they teach their
children how to drive. Eradicating the distraction is the first part.

The
second part would be making sure that your children continue to
implement what you taught them and as a society we need to become
more unified and hold each other accountable. A large number of
deaths occur from texting and driving. The worst part is that
adolescents are the ones getting into the most car accidents that
resulted from texting while driving. To secure a better future for
the next generation we need to start by teaching the current
generation what’s right and what’s wrong. The knowledge we learn as
young children becomes the knowledge that changes the future for the
better or for the worst. Regardless of how small or impactful the
message depends on the effort we put to spread the word.