Am I a loser if I don't have a phone?

[Dina B]

What you said in your text "there's more phones than smart people" is definitely correct. I received my first decent Samsung phone when I was in Grade 12 aged 17 (I am turning 19 this year) and I am so glad my parents didn't give me a smart phone earlier. Look around you, at the train station, at school, at work, at uni, at home, at the movies, everywhere and people are just on their phone being brainwashed by social media websites like Facebook and Ask.fm, etc. Especially when you see people with their friends and the group or few of them aren't even talking and they're just texting other people off their phone. Technology really has ruined proper social interactions, which are so important for development and general well-being as well. Albert Einstein's wonderful quote “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots" and "it’s become appallingly clear that our technology has surpassed our humanity" is more relevant to today's society than ever, and it really says something about the society we live in.

Not only this, the social networking sites we use (as mentioned above) such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Ask.fm are just opportunities for cyber bullying and keyboard warriors to abuse innocent people. You are doing yourself a HUGE favour by not having a phone you really are and I'm proud to here you don't have one. My little sister is 14 and got a phone at the age of 12 got a phone, and her school results have just spiralled out of control, she's been cyber bullied, has gone through self harm, she behaves badly, and I can tell you right now that technology and the way people use it has played a HUUGGEEEE part in all of this.

If you really want one, think wisely. You sound like a smart person so I'm sure you'll make the right decision. Just be careful and watch out for these sites, use the internet wisely! And if your parents simply won't get you one, perhaps getting a job and buying one isn't too bad of an idea. That'll give you some good life lessons on saving money, something people struggle to do more than ever these days as well!