By Nfor Tracy
In the palm of every teenager and young adult lies a powerful social currency. It is no longer just a device for communication but a status symbol, a badge of belonging.
The smartphone intended to connect us, is now a central force in creating a new insidious social hierarchy. The quality of one’s phone no longer dictates camera clarity or processing speed, it is now your social standing.
For many, the pressure to own a high-end device is overwhelming, the latest “iPhone” has become a non-negotiable ticket into certain social circles.
On the other side of the screen, those with “low quality/ old models” often face a quiet, humiliating exclusion. A subtle side eye when pulling out your phone in public or sharing your pictures to friends to be included in a group selfie is often disregarded because the “quality” doesn’t fit.
This desperate need to “keep up”has driven some to terrifying extremes . The number of stories that have popped up on social media handles of young girls engaging in illicit activities to get these phones is alarming. The phone is no longer a tool it has become an” idol” and the cost of worship is escalating .
Conversations are no longer just between people but are filtered through the unspoken judgement of the device they hold. Friendships are tested at times destroyed, insecurities amplified and boom a new form of social anxiety has been born.
In the end, we are left with a painful irony, the very technology designed to bring us closer together is in fact building invisible walls between us
