Social media is the perfect way to connect with friends and family and see what’s going on in their lives. Phones and social media are one of the only ways people know what’s going on in the world and with family and friends we don’t always get to see. With the speed of life in our society we need our phones to get instant updates on the weather, traffic, and current events.

Adults and students use their phones every day for various reasons. Student Delaney Finn said, “I use my phone everyday to talk to other people and entertain myself when I’m bored.”  Teacher Ms. Hoey-Germann said she uses her phone, “Multiple times a day.  It’s on silent mode at school, but I’ll look at it for text messages from my husband or family members.” High school students and teachers especially need their phone because when trapped in school for 6 hours a day, you never know what is going on outside of these walls.

Many people use their phones for entertainment purposes. Student Jacob Hilton said he uses his phone mainly for, “Instagram, texting, taking pictures, reading, and Netflix.” But there is more to cellphones than just the familiar social media apps. Ms. Hoey-Germann also uses her phone for different Prayer apps, FitBit, Weather Bug and GoodReads. With Good Reads she said she can, “Connect with those people I rarely talk to and see what they are reading and how they liked it.“

Even though our world is attached to our phones, most of the usage is for good reason. Hoey-Germann said, “I think social media is an excellent tool to connect with people outside of their daily life and daily interactions. The global community has benefited in real ways and helped expand education on issues of injustice around the world.” Cell phones and social media should be looked at as more of a connection tool, because without them we’d be less aware of what’s going on.