TOW #18 - Visual

A very prevalent issue in today's society is our attachment to our smartphones and electronic devices. We, including me, hold to them so dearly and can find ourselves on them longer than not. Teenagers and young adults especially are constantly stuck to their phones, checking their Snapchat or making sure they get likes on their latest Instagram upload. On top of that, they're texting each other nonstop. In a cartoon by political cartoonist Steve Nease, a teenage boy is shown asking his father, "What's 'handwriting'?" The father, who is holding a newspaper that a has a headline that says, "National Handwriting Day - Jan. 23," is looking at his son, who appears to be in the midst of texting on his phone, in amazement. Nease juxtaposes the teenager with the teenager's father through the clothes that they are wearing and the thing in their hands. This creates a distinct difference between the teenager's generation and the father's generation by using stereotypes of how they act. He also uses the teenager's confusion to represent the majority of the current generation's lack of understanding of what it means to write by hand, instead of by phone. I find this cartoon effective on a personal level, because I too am guilty of using my phone and computer a lot. Although I don't really expect to change my habits and use my phone or computer less, it is a reminder of the direction our generation has already set a course for: a digital era. In some aspects, it's impossible to give up some electronics because of the way our global society, government, and economy are set up. They depend on our use of digital devices and wouldn't function otherwise.