Sam Russell

English 1000

Rhetorical Analysis Paper

February 28, 2019

Do you spend too much time on your phone? Do kids spend too much time on their

phones? Or better question, should kids even have phones? Jean M. Twinge, a writer and

psychologist who has studied generational differences for 25 years, dives into all of these things

in an article called “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”. She’s a writer for The

Atlantic which is a historically well acclaimed publication that has been around since the 1850s.

The Atlantic publishes on both sides of the political spectrum but doesn’t veer far from the

middle. Some may even say it leans a little to the left. Twinge’s article for this publication gives

valid arguments from both sides of why or why not kids should have phones at a young age, but

she ultimately sides on the fact that kids shouldn’t have smartphones. In this essay I will go

back and forth with Jean Twinge on her viewpoints and evidence on today’s phone issues.

In Jean Twinge’s piece “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, she starts by

using her real-life encounter with a 13-year-old from Houston, Texas by the name Athena.

Athena told Twinge about her summer that consisted of spending, “Most of the time hanging

out alone in her room with her phone.” She said that, “That’s just the way my generation is.”

Right off the bat, Twinge uses a firsthand encounter to show these eye-opening quotes so the

reader knows not just why smartphones might be bad for kids, but more so that this is not

some conspiracy. This is the truth.

 In her 25 years of studying generational differences, Twinge found that one of the main

behavioral differences between past generations and the current generation is their “allure to

independence” that “holds less sway over today’s teens.” This independence isn’t necessarily

referring to the act of being alone, but not following every trend in society. Today, kids are

much more prone to be the same because of the wave of social media. Twinge states, “The

arrival of the smartphone has radically changed every aspect of teenagers’ lives, from the

nature of their social interactions to their mental health. These changes have affected young

people in every corner of the nation and in every type of household. The trends appear among

teens poor and rich: of every ethnic background: in cities, suburbs, and small towns. Where

there are cell towers, there are teens living their lives on their smartphones.” Grabbing the

attention of the reader, Twinge gives the audience an understanding of how large scale the

“smartphone epidemic” is. She even mocks iPhone and gives the generation her own name:

iGen. Leading up to this point in the article, Jean Twinge is outlining the size and spread of the

smartphone problem in teens.

Just when the reader thinks they know the severity of the smartphone epidemic on the

current generation, Twinge lays out the real problem found in her studies: “More comfortable

in their bedrooms than in a car or at a party, today’s teens are physically safer than teens have

been. They’re markedly less likely to get into a car accident and, having less of a taste for

alcohol than their predecessors, are less susceptible to drinking’s attendant ills. Psychologically,

however, they are more vulnerable than Millennials were: Rates of teen depression and suicide

have skyrocketed since 2011. It’s not an exaggeration to describe iGen as being on the brink of

the worst mental-health crisis in decades. Much of this deterioration can be traces to their
phones.” Twinge persuades the reader by showing both sides of the argument. Almost teasing

the reader by showing the good side of smartphones, Twinge tugs right back with negatives

about the effects of smartphones that are far worse than the positives are good. It gives the

reader a choice between negative or positive, that choice being rhetoric. The negatives are

obviously worse than the positives.

“No single factor ever defines a generation,” Twinge says. “Parenting styles continue to

change, as do school curricula and culture, and these things matter. But the twin rise of the

smartphone and social media has caused an earthquake of a magnitude we’ve not seen in a

very long time, if ever. There is compelling evidence that the devices we’ve placed in young

people’s hands are having profound effects on their lives – and making them seriously

unhappy.”

As if Jean Twinge didn’t already persuade her audience enough that smartphones are

destroying a generation, she made the overhead question a rhetoric question with valid,

convincing data and evidence that backs up her rhetoric and claims. Although, going as far as

saying that the current generation is “destroyed” might be an overstatement, Twinge surely

proved her message.