Enter the 21st century: smartphones, laptops, tech gears, and exploding ‘Samsung Note 7s’. We, the teens, are usually the only Generation Z kid in our family. It is only expectable that we easily alienate ourselves. No matter how technologically savvy we are and no matter how active we are on social media, we are wary or real-life social contacts and engagements.

In essence, our identity in the year 2017 is a montage of awkward conversations, ignorance, solitude, and love for technology.

We practically live on the Internet. Our seemingly busy life consists of 70 percent social media, 20 percent online games, and 10 percent social life, assumedly. LED screens are, in fact, the only thing our eyes seem to be affectionate towards. Our typical day consists of scrolling through hundreds of internet trolls and puns, fortifying and evading in Clash of Clans, and some daily awkward social encounters. A little secret; most of us are inevitably compared, for being geeky and gawky, with Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory (check him out; the resemblance is uncanny). In this regard, our identity is of a kid who doesn’t seem to like coming out of his or her room and rather remain undisturbed inside his or her fortress.

We are socially estranged, especially when it comes to all those inherited relationships. We have un-deliberately fostered ignorance and distortions of reality. We have no clue about how our cousins are. We have practically stopped talking to our uncles and aunts, and we don’t even remember the names of our nieces and nephews. We have undermined, even dismissed, our connections with most of our relatives. In this regard, we are deemed as an over-provided kid who doesn’t value having a family and relatives.

On the social flip side, we have acquired things we can be proud of. We have become staunch proponents of the technology. We have acquired a vast amount of technical knowledge, which our family notices. If any of our family members have problems with their smartphones or any other devices, we are the first ones they call for. If any of our relatives want to buy a new gadget or purchase a new subscription, they come to us. We have a prudent sense of solving their problems and value their benefit at the utmost level. In this regard, our identity is of a guy with some technical know-how who helps others solve problems.

We are monomaniacs when it comes to modern 21st century technological advances. This has certainly grown some imbalances with our connections with several members of our family. But this has also helped us grow our passion for technology and get really good at them.

When it comes to family, we have racked up plenty of relationship debts that can’t be paid off easily. But when it comes to technical knowledge, we have reached a new level where we have near to no equals. After some contemplation, it will be safe to claim that the frontier between technically-smart us and socially-awkward us is actually our real identity.

Shrestha is a student at Liverpool International College