Journal Entry 5 - Teenage Interview

For this assignment, I interviewed two of my female cousins. They are sisters and in the 12th grade at different schools. While they share friends from middle school, which they attended together, they have different friends in high school. Below is a brief overview of our little interview.

Me: Can you bring your cell phone to school?
R: It can come in the building, but that's it. We can't have them out during the school day.
J: I can bring my phone to school and use it in classes. We can use it for research and stuff like that.
R: Research? They don't even allow us that.
Me: Ok, cool. next question...

Me: About how many hours a day do you use your phone then? (R immediately starts calculating out loud.)
R: Since I can't use it in school during the day, I saw like 5 hrs weekdays. You know before school, on the way there, then when I come home in the evening.
J: I use mine like 10 hrs a day, since I can use it in school.
Me: What about weekends? (They both start laughing and shaking their heads.)
J: It's horrible.
R: Oh my goodness, I can't even say.
Me: So I'm guessing you don't get off of them of weekends? They both nod their heads while laughing.
Me: Ok, that's cool. What are you using it for? What are doing on it, like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram?
J: Youtube
R: Music

Me: Aight. What about if you have an assignment to do? Does the phone distract you?
They both said yes, then gave their explanations.
R: It can be very distracting. If there's something that I really, really have to get done, then I just turn it off.
J: I may have to put it under my pillow or something, because I listen to music and then I start singing instead of writing.

Me: Ok, so I know I send a lot of texts. Right now, since they new billing period started on Oct. 24, I have already sent 4,383 texts. What does your texting look like? They both laugh at my number, as they answer.
J: If that's your number, ours must be crazy.
R: We have to be somewhere about $6,000-$8,000 then. Because we use group texts and all that.
J: Yeah, if you turn away from your phone, you'll come back and see 500 messages from a group chat.
Me: Why text so much? What about talking to people on the phone?
R: Nah. Certain people don't need to hold a conversation with me on the phone. They only deserve a text.
J: I prefer texting because of the emojis,
Me: Did you hear what the Oxford word of the year is?
R: What is it?
J: The laughing emoji with tears coming down its face. I use that one all the time.
Me: Yeah, so do I. (As we all start laughing.)

Me: Ok, almost done. What about phones and little kids? Do you think this technology is too much for them?
R: Definitely. My child wouldn't have a phone until they are like 13.
J: 13? I would only give them one if they have to walk home or something? If they're with me, they aren't getting anything.
Me: But what about C and W (two of our younger cousins)? They have ipads and stuff.
R: Yeah, and when they are on it, no one exists. When W and T (the girls' brother) are on the ipad, you can walk in the room and they don't even know. It's crazy, they don't need it.
J: Not happening. It's taking over their minds.

The conversation went on for a bit longer, as we talked about sexting and gamers. They both agreed that sexting is "risky" and "stupid," as it now gives others the chance to see your body and share the image. I told them about a conversation in my classes about sexting, where I told my students if it was that important for them to show their bodies to someone else, they should do it in person. They both agreed, saying they tell people the same thing. When I asked them about gaming, they said they barely play games on their phones. However, they do know some hard core gamers, and they are "all into it. Sometimes you don't even know what they are talking about. It's like another language." Since they don't play games, it was a bit difficult for me to get anything more from them on that topic.

It was interesting to interview my cousins, as I got to really see how they view technology. When asked if technology is helpful, J said something that I enjoyed. She said "maybe technology should be rolled back a bit. Not to the point where we no longer have cell phones, but just enough, so that we go back to dealing with people and not machines." Even though J and R say they spend a lot of time on their phones, when there is a family event, they are there and engaged. They'll watch tv with us on a Saturday night and sit and talk during holiday dinners. They haven't completely shut off family, like some other teenagers have. Which I think has to do with how children are raised, and the interactions they have with their parents. If the adults are stuck in their devices, so will the children. But if adults hold conversations and engage with others, the children will do the same.

I also learned or had to admit that I spend A LOT of time texting, mostly because of its convenience. However, I do enjoy face-to-face conversations whenever they are happening. I love even more, to hear my phone ring and it be someone calling to check in on me. Technology has done a lot to improve the lives of adults and children, but we have to make sure it doesn't replace us.