Alexandra Hulit –

The View –

Seventy-eight percent of teens own a cell phone. Of them, 37 percent own a smartphone, such as an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy. However, 90 percent of adults have cell phones, with 58 percent owning a smartphone.

But just because more adults than teens have cell phones doesn’t mean they know how to use them better than we do.

My dad has been a pilot since he graduated from flight school 24 years ago. He knew he wanted to be a pilot since he was five years old. His job is completely technology-based, between the radar used to detect objects in the distance to the aviation headsets for communicating with air traffic control. But Dad can’t print out a piece of paper on our computer or send a text on his phone.

My mom has been a dental hygienist for 22 years. She takes digital X-rays, works with multiple dental software programs and charts on the computer. But she still can’t copy and paste, and doesn’t even know how to check her email.

For Christmas, my brother and I got smartphones. My parents also bought themselves the same smartphone, so we were figuring out the same phones at the same time. But I’d be working on something and Mom would ask me how to text her coworker. Dad would walk over and ask to change the wallpaper on his phone. I was just learning these things myself. It gets to a point when parents think their children are technological geniuses or walking phone manuals. My parents had crossed that line.

But they have a valid point.

Teenagers today are more technology conscious. Teachers ask us to look up information on our phones. We commonly use computers for school-related work, including checking school updates and communicating with teachers and students on projects. We spend free time on our phones and text our family rather than talk to them in person.

Maybe it’s annoying to have my parents ask me so many questions about their phones. But in a weird way, I view it as an honor. They trust my judgement. They see how much I know and rely on me to help.

I can only hope I’m as much an example in other areas as I am with a phone.