By Cortney St. John
Round Table broadcast producer

The technology of today has corrupted the minds of the younger generation.

I received a cell phone only two years ago and I still don’t have unlimited texting, so if I need to text someone it costs 20 cents per message.

When I tell middle school students this, they are in awe; not all middle school students own a cell phone with unlimited texting and internet, but more do now than when I was in middle school.

It’s simple: my parents pay for almost all of my extra-curricular activities, provide me with food, shelter, entertainment, and clothes, so they don’t have all the extra money to pay for texting. If I want to text, I need to find a decent-paying job in order to pay for it.

Some high school students are fortunate enough to have their parents pay for their cell phones, but in return they usually have a job or help around the house to pay for it.

The middle school students typically  expect to be given a cell phone that is equipped with texting and if it doesn’t, they have no use for it.

The value of an earned dollar to the younger generation has nearly vanished because, in today’s society, with technology developing before our eyes, children always want the newest fads.

Ask an eight-year-old what they wants for Christmas or their birthday and an iPad would probably be their response. Ask an eight-year-old this question in 2000 and his answer would have been very different because society has changed a great deal.

Technology has changed the way our minds function. Technology is like a drug – it becomes addictive and continues to pull others off track.

When I turned 13, I received a second generation iPod. At the time, that was the newest and coolest electronic out there, and it was affordable.

Now, 13-year-olds want the newest iPhone with unlimited texting, internet, and apps.

Technology has also changed the way we fit in with others. If someone doesn’t own the newest iPad or cell phone, he may feel left out when all of his friends are quickly texting others while he is left standing there with no one to talk to directly.

With technology changing, children have begun to take technological luxuries for granted, forming an outlook that is both unappreciative and unrealistic.