I could feel the judging eyes of my family burning a hole into the back of my head as I picked up my phone. All of a sudden, the living room fell into a profound silence. The chattering died and all I could hear was the sound of the turkey sizzling in the oven.

“Look at her! She’s been on her phone all day long! It’s all your fault! You and your abysmal parenting are getting on my nerves; children will never respect elders if they are not taught how to behave!” my grandmother spat with a disgusted temper.

I was appalled! Indignant! I opened my mouth to say something, but words failed me and I sat on the chair like a mouse in its trap. My mom shot me the sternest look she could muster at that moment, while my dad visibly rolled his eyes in an utter state of boredom. Here we go again. I thought.

“Here we go again,” my dad muttered the words running through my head.

I genuinely love my family, and I would do anything for them. I also know that should the need arise they would do anything for me as well. However, there are moments that make me feel like they are just stuck with me. They mostly think and act the same which really makes me stand out, and they all agree on one thing: technology is ruining me.

If I am going to be treated like a child or completely ignored, I will most likely not enjoy your company, and I feel like this applies to the majority of the people. Which, in my opinion, makes it even more absurd that people would actually do any of that to others. That is the one simple reason why I sometimes shut myself in my room, or choose to text people back. I’m bored, I’m being ignored, and I’m being treated like a worthless child, how do people honestly wish for me to just sit there and take it?

“It is all their fault! This is not how you raise a child; children do not deserve any of what she has. They do not deserve a computer. They do not deserve all of that crap that is bought for her all the time. And they definitely do not deserve a damn phone!” my grandfather bellowed. “Have you not seen all the news?...”

At that moment, I ceased listening to him ranting on about what was happening to the people on the news; the truth is, if someone is on the news, they’re one of three things: famous (celebrities), messed up or stupid (all the criminals, and the people who share their whole identity with others), or actually significant (the people that are important to today’s society). How dare he compare me to the people on the news?

I stood up and left the living room while I heard his tone ascend. Unbelievable. I thought as I slammed my bedroom door. I could not remember one time when my family was gathered all in one place and actually did not get in a huge fight about how I’m ruining my life day by day.

I sat in my room looking at my phone, as I listened to the voices coming from the living room. I felt like I shouldn’t have been mad at my family, but their mentality. They all grew up in a world so different than mine that it amazes me how they have actually gotten this far. They did not have phones or any type of advanced technology, which is both good and bad. Bad because they had almost no type of fast communication, and good because they were forced to interact with one another, which is something today’s society is deprived of. However, maybe if they made an effort to understand how things work nowadays, they would not be so against everything.