The increased use of technology and social media has caused teens to stop hanging out with their friends in person. Now teens will sit at home behind a screen and FaceTime or text instead of going to hang out. This causes a lot of problems for adolescents. First, the lack of human to human social interaction is causing teens to feel lonely which can lead to depression. According to Harter and Perlman "loneliness affects teenagers strongly, because during adolescence, the individual’s social world experiences important changes and the sense of identity strengthens." In our teenage years, it is important to get out and experience the world and learn from our mistakes. If we are not even leaving the house, how are we supposed to learn new things and meet new people?

     The other issue with the lack of social interaction is that teens are staying home now so they are becoming more dependent on their parents. Teens are now starting to drive much later in life because there is less of a reason to leave the house. According to a new study by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the percentage of people with a driver’s license decreased between 2011 and 2014, across all age groups. This makes teenagers less independent and they are not able to advocate for themselves. We are so used to hiding behind a screen when we communicate with other people and when we actually have to interact with other people in person, teens lack appropriate social skills. We need to start encouraging teens to get out of the house more often and not rely on technology as their main form of communication. Who knows what type of effects this will have on the future of our society? 

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