Ten years ago, using a screen was a choice you made. Back in 2016, if people wanted to watch a video, they sat in front of a TV to watch it. If they needed to look something up, they opened a laptop to search for it. Phones were mostly used for texting friends and relatives or playing basic mobile games. There was a clear difference between being online and being in the real world. Today, that difference is completely gone. For my generation, screens aren‘t just tools anymore; instead, they are basically the environment we live in every single day.

The biggest change is how social media works now. Compared to ten years ago, in 2016, Instagram and YouTube showed content in the order it was posted. You were able to see all types of uploads, even though they appeared randomly, and you only saw updates from people you actually followed. Now, everything is driven by algorithms. Apps like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are designed to keep us scrolling endlessly with short-form content selected specifically based on what we watch. We do not even choose what we watch anymore because the apps decide for us using algorithms. This has turned screen time from something we do for fun into a mindless habit that we engage in without even thinking.

Another huge difference is how screens have separated us. Ten years ago, even when families were in the same room, they would sit together on the couch to watch a movie or a live sports game on a single screen. It used to be a shared experience. Now, everyone has their own device, and that sense of connectedness is fading. You can walk into a living room and see parents watching the news, a teenager on social media, and a younger sibling playing games, all sitting next to one another in total silence. We might be connected to people all over the world, but we are paying less attention to the people sitting right beside us.

To conclude, screens make it difficult to truly take a break. In the past, when school or work ended, your free time actually began. Now, school apps and group chats send notifications constantly. Your phone is your classroom, gaming center, shopping mall, and social life all in one. Because a single device holds so many parts of our lives, our brains rarely get a chance to rest and switch off.

Looking back over the last ten years, screens have completely changed our relationships with our families. We used to worry about how many hours we spent looking at a screen. Now, the real challenge is finding ways to step away from them and appreciate what real life has to offer.

<David You 학생 기자 어바인 고교 10학년>