Sophomore Aniya Seaton chose to write about the plague that is the internet because she’s, “always pestered by my mom, and sometimes myself, about getting off my phone to go be active or do something productive.” After she graduates, she wants to take her passions – art, creative writing, and doing her makeup and hair – to Atlanta, Georgia, to pursue modeling, attend college for psychology, or go to cosmetology school.
On January 5th, 2009, a girl was born into a middle-class family. Sure, she was entertained by her mom, dad, brother, and babysitters, but she was mainly entertained by the large screen that sat in her living room, blaring large pictures of cartoon characters formed by little pixels. Her mother tells her even today that during her first few years, she couldn’t, wouldn’t tear her eyes away from that large, blue-light screen. It became a problem when doing tasks. She wasn’t able to do anything when the TV was on. Even when it was just the commercials showing, she couldn’t look away. Sadly, today, it’s still a problem. It’s not as bad, but now, it’s a smaller screen with unlimited platforms that capture her attention. Unfortunately, that girl is me. And this I believe – the internet is like eating plastic.
Although things like television and social media distracted me, and still distract me today, I was always labeled as a precocious child. I always wanted to learn more about what the topic was on. But even that has slowed down to a stop. Since I’ve been allowed to have things such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, I’ve wanted to do less things. I don’t even want to draw or creatively write as often, things I loved to do as a young child when the TV was shut off. It feels like I don’t have the energy to do things like that anymore. I want to get better at piano, but instead, here I am writing this essay when really, I should have finished this this morning; but I was on my phone. I want to be a straight-A student, but that gosh darn phone sits at my side, longing to be used.
Grades have slipped, practice has slowed down, and sleep is slowly fading away. I used to be able to balance schoolwork and watching TV, playing video games, or browsing social media. But ever since the years 2020, 2021, and 2022, things went downhill. COVID-19: the one thing that took away people’s social skills, work ethic, and energy for doing quite anything. Between the years 2017 and 2020, I went outside and hung out with friends. I was happier, I was healthier. I drew beautiful pictures of things or people I liked. Then, schools closed because this huge pandemic hit us, and it hit us like a tsunami. The only friends I was talking to then were the ones I saw every day online. A year passed and I hadn’t talked to my neighbor and best friend in so long. Next thing I knew, I moved. I lost a best friend because I was too busy in my house on my computer playing games or Snapping my other friends; I was too busy for her. Luckily, today, I have reconnected with her, and we are still friends, but not as close as we were before.
Sleep – the one thing humans should get around ten hours of. Instead, I get around 5 full hours each night. I know it’s unhealthy because I’ve even gotten sick from the lack of sleep before. I feel energized at some point of the day, then, it starts to catch up with me and I doze off in one of my classes. Which usually causes problems for me later, hence my many missing assignments. I end up trying to cram all 2-4 weeks of work into 6 hours. My mind gets jumbled, and I start to lose focus. Then comes the phone. I pull out that darn phone and scroll or watch YouTube videos. I sometimes try to multitask, watching the video while doing my work. It never works out.
All in all, the internet truly slows you down. It’s something to entertain the human mind, not keep it on the task at hand. I cannot believe I’m about to say this, but even music isn’t good for anyone when it’s constant listening all the time, 24/7. Having too much screen time can make you choke up on life, swallowing too much of something that already isn’t good for you to digest. Almost like eating plastic…
