Editor's Note: This story was reported by Lucas Greene and the accompanying artwork and photos were created by Luis Mejia as part of the Spring 2024 Kalamazoo Voices of Youth Program. The program is a collaboration between Southwest Michigan Second Wave and KYD Network in partnership with the YMCA of Greater Kalamazoo, funded by the Stryker Johnston Foundation. The Voices of Youth Program is led by Earlene McMichael. VOY Mentors were Jane Parikh (writing) and Casey Grooten (art).


Are our conversation skills eroding? 

Jomie Goerge, a Kalamazoo-based therapist, thinks so.

“Communication is one of those dying arts,” she says. Research seems to back her up, especially as it concerns teens. 

As stated in an article by the National Library of Medicine, youth are spending more time on their smartphones even when friends are present. And the frequent checking of social media is leading to a rise in teens experiencing “FOMO,” or fear of missing out, the data says. The result is their self-esteem diminishes through comparison, as they become convinced others’ lives are more exciting.

Jomie George, a Kalamazoo-based therapist“Although it’s super easy to connect with others through phones and social media, loneliness is still very common because they’re not as fulfilling as genuine conversation,” Goerge says.

According to the University of Michigan article “A Week in the Life of a Young Person's Smartphone Use,” the average teen spends about three to five hours on their smartphone every day. 

This tech usage appears to be affecting how well students are learning and interacting in class. It’s gone so far that schools have started taking away students' phones if they have them out in class, says Matthew Porco, a U.S. history teacher at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Schools such as Loy Norrix have implemented phone policies that have greatly decreased usage of phones during class time and have improved teachers' abilities to teach.

“I do think students are somewhat relieved,” says Porco. 

Matthew Porco, history teacher at Loy Norrix HIgh School They appreciate that teachers are better able to teach the subject matter without the disruptions of phones and social media.

But conversations with students in school still feel stilted and although the phone policy has been extremely effective teachers still struggle to interact with students.

“I just have to call on people if I want participation,” continues Porco. 

Tough habit to break

Some believe the pandemic greatly affected how students in high school and elementary schools interact. 

Brynn Wade, vice head of Kazoo School, a private pre-K-8 school in Kalamazoo, observes that it forced students to limit their interactions with others and rely on their phones and social media for a chance at communication.

At Loy Norrix, sophomore Kalan Ashby-Wade has noticed that some students still struggle to keep off their phones even with the phone policy and spend a lot of class time just scrolling.

“There are times when students would rather listen to the Bible in Chinese and Mozart at two times speed than listen to their teacher,” Ashby-Wade says.

Teens who haven’t had chance to exercise their social skills frequently revert to their norm: social media. 

The downside of this, as stated in the Pew Research Center's “A Majority of Teens Have Experienced Some Form of Cyberbullying” by Monica Anderson, many teens who go online experience some form of online bullying or abusive behavior.

Phones and tech demand our undivided attention 24/7 and create an environment for young people to feel terrible about themselves and be bullied frequently, where children of generations who grew up without smartphones knew that bullying would most likely end when they left school and arrived home, says Kalamazoo therapist Jomie Goerge.

Other solutions

So, what can be done to help students bolster face-to-face interactions before they enter high school?

Some schools such as Kazoo School have had to start teaching students basic social skills, including conflict resolution. Wade has worked to increase conversations and socialization between students. 

“Teenagers need more in-person hang-out time — unstructured hanging out,” Wade says.

Kazoo has multiple clubs that run during and after the school day which help students exercise their social skills, Wade says.

Parents' cell phone usage impacts teens

But guess what’s the biggest impact on a child’s emotional skill development?

It is not as much the child’s own digital media use, but rather their parents' usage. According to research in the article “Does Digital Media Use Harm Children’s Emotional Intelligence? A Parental Perspective,” children whose parents used their mobile devices more frequently in their presence had lower emotional intelligence.

Children learn by example and when they are surrounded by adults who are on their phones that becomes the default, Goerge says.

“I don’t think the phone is the problem. It’s more about the use of it,” Goerge says. 

Face-to-face communication is more personal, whereas social media and text let individuals stay disconnected and anonymous from one another. People need to see each other's expressions and body language in real-time, Goerge says.

“The smallest part of communication as an art is the words,” Goerge says



Lucas Greene will be a senior at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan this fall.

Luis Mejia is a 17-year-old junior at Loy Norrix High School. He likes to draw and enjoys helping out others when they need help.


Luis MejiaVOY Artist, Luis MejiaArtist Statement: "My drawing was made with pencil, and pen, and finished up on Photoshop. I also used a photo I took in Kalamazoo as a background. The drawing is an example of how people are always on their phones and how this can cause some folks to not feel comfortable communicating or meeting in person. I used the chain to signify how many people may not realize it, but they are slaves to their devices." 



Below are the links referenced in the article:

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/06/30/tech-causes-more-problems-than-it-solves/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7012622/

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/08/23/most-u-s-teens-who-use-cellphones-do-it-to-pass-time-connect-with-others-learn-new-things/

https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/edcast/22/10/complex-world-teens-and-screens