It’s Not Worth It.

It is not worth it. By: Aaliyah Deaver

It has been over a decade since phones and other forms of mobile technology has been made. Since then there has been an increase of sleep deprivation surpassing 22% of teenagers who are there by distracted by their phones during the day and night (Twenge 2017). To follow-up, many teenagers are entitled towards their popularity when it comes to Social media such as Snapchat or Instagram which are most active according to iTunes. Other times visual forms of Social media are one of the highest risk and result of reckless driving. To reduce the affects of unsafe driving, you can educate these young adults about the cost of their reckless driving. I advise them to know that lawyers can get involve and they would have to pay damage towards their and another individual’s vehicle.  Altogether, the average cost could be more than a college tuition, therefore they may rethink about their decisions when getting into their car. I once was in a car accident because my friend drove irresponsibly. That friend ended up having to pay for multiple hospital bills and car damage as only a high school senior. To get into the proper mindset about driving, a individual needs commitment, a responsible attitude towards driving and I feel that it is immature to let a phone distract you for unimportant reasons. A teenager should note to themselves that a phone should only be used for emergencies. This excludes taking a photo for a friend or texting about a big game last night. 

When  a teen experiences road rage or they can not make it on time to their destination, the first instinct is to document it onto social media. They feel as though that have to tell someone what they have just experience. If they need to do so, they should stop at a local gas station and document there, instead of doing so at a stop light or stop sign because they feel as if there is enough time to pass. An exception would be need help from a device for navigation. To follow along with road rage, the aspect of controlling yourself , when someone else gives you rage do not fight fire with fire. It is better to ignore and continue your safe driving. I believe that a person should restrain themselves from their phone no matter what, since they are sitting in a car with the engine on. To avoid rushing to get to an event, it is better consider traffic lights or traffic schedules and awake thirty minutes earlier. 

My last idea is to inform teens and even adults that it is possible to receive  points in exchange for money for not being on their phone with the Onmyway app with advertisement. Onmyway gives you points for your favorite places by not being on your phone while driving. An idea to reduce time on your phone is to turn off your phone. Teens can place their phone into their glove box or another compartment to break the bad habit of always checking their phone.   Furthermore, young adults should know the rules of the road. This includes knowing your traffic lights, speed limit, road signs, noticing your blind spots and other traffic laws  to further reduce an accident. Overall, to lower risk of dangerous driving habits; a person should keep their phone far away from them, get involved in an app that blocks you from being on phone and learn more about traffic laws.