Dear future leader of our great country,

Congratulations on what I’m aware is not an easy road of campaign. And great news, it payed off! Now I know you must have a lot on your plate. But I wanted to take some time to talk to you about a problem that grows today as fast as any, maybe quicker. This concern grows with every megabyte of data used. With every brightness bar slid down to the minimum because our eyes can no longer adjust for the darkness outside. Every single second of every minute of every day it is used and relied on more and more and more. Technology. By the fact we use it this much, shouldn’t we be worried about it over loading us?

An essential aspect of modern life no doubt. Everyone from the age range of about 10-65 has a supercomputer on their person that is “theoretically capable of guiding 120 million Apollo rockets at the same time”(Paul Ledak). Technology is very useful and handy when used in the right ways. Millions of people are connected with each other through social media platforms. Sharing ideas is easier than ever. Getting work and play done can be accomplished right from the palm of our hands. But it is these factors of life that make us the most anti-social. Ironic isn’t it? People spend days upon weeks worrying about follower counts. Or how many likes their status got. Walk into any public place and I can almost guarantee you there are enough people to make a battalion scrolling through twitter, instagram, facebook, etc.. These apps are not bad by any means. Though it is up to us as social beings whether or not we let it overload us.

Do we want our children to be entirely dependent on a phone to compute everything for them? Kids are getting phones earlier than ever. Entrusted with what was considered a super computer not 70 years ago at the ages of 8-10. These kids need to have a childhood based on social and human interaction rather than relying on their newest phone to spit out an answer. I didn’t learn manners from the internet. Nor did I learn how to talk to adults in a respectful manner from the internet. Experience is the best teacher. And using technology and not relying on it is the balance that should be achieved for the next generation of leaders.

The dependence on technology is also affecting our economy and workforce.

Older and more specialized workers aren’t as sought after as kids just out of college that have practically spent half of their life understanding and working with computers. “ Unfortunately this set of attitudes tends has an impact on the day to day experience of older workers. It is a dangerous outlook that often leads to a more stressful work environment and to increasing age discrimination which, in turn, threatens health and happiness, reduces job satisfaction, and for older workers may lead to a feeling of isolation and alienation, even withdrawal from the workplace” (Jasmin Tahmaseb-McConatha Ph.D). This mindset for age discrimination drives older, specialized, skill out of the workforce. And this does bring in new blood for the various companies but also brings in a generation that is staring at some sort of screen for most of their lifetime.

Technology is taking over, and doing whatever it takes to get people away from their phones or PC’s might help with multiple aspects of life in the long run. Encourage more outdoor classes, more free thinking ideals, and most of all more social interaction and camaraderie with other human beings.

Thank you for your time. Again congratulations on the presidency. And I hope you make decisions that will further and better our nation.

Sincerely,

A concerned 16 year old

“He who molds the public sentiment... makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to make.” - Abraham Lincoln