As you walk down the quad and see a familiar face that you want to avoid at all costs, what do you robotically do? Grab your cell phone and pretend that the most important text of your life has just come in as your hands tap violently, clearly too busy to even say hello to a real person walking by you (Everyone has done this at least once in their life). In any given social scene, look around and see how many eyes are focused diligently on their screens even when surrounded by friends. At the bison, in the library, at 7th street, people are hunched over at their phones, their eyes simply unable to divert from the important world of social media. How many times have you been interrupted mid conversation because of a beep on a cell phone or bumped into by someone who simply could not take their eyes off of their phone?
The primary purpose of social media and cell phones was to increase communication for people throughout the world. Without a doubt, technology has improved efficiency in communication in profound ways that are impossible to describe. Within seconds, we can connect ourselves to friends everywhere. With just a click of a button, your Facebook friends or twitter followers can know exactly what you are doing and where you are, even if they are across the world. You can type a meticulously thought out message to a friend (or maybe an ex) and have them read it within moments, them clearly impressed with your use of complex words and correct grammar.
But, is this increased communication somehow putting us into a reserved, almost dangerous silence, where we are simply unable to communicate with one another in person?
Cell phones are absorbing. Even addicting. A recent study notes that college women spend nearly 10 hours a day on their phones, while college males spend nearly 8. Almost every teen, young adult, and even adult knows that gut-wrenching pit in the middle of their stomach when we leave our cell phones at home for a day. (But how am I possibly supposed to survive without it?!) We have become servants to the technology surrounding us, real conversation slowly being defeated by social media. While social media makes us social to the people we are connecting with via cell phones, it has slowly made us anti- social to the real world, putting us behind a wall that blocks human interaction and that can sometimes be difficult to break.
Complaints of the older generation indicate the increasing obsession with cell phones/ social media and the dangers behind overuse of them. We’ve all heard a grandparent or aunt and uncle say, “Back in my day, when I was your age, we actually played outside, talked to one another, asked a girl on a real date face to face”; the list goes on and on. People think that our generation can no longer communicate in person. But, if you’re like me, then you also may feel the guilt over this desperate need to be connected to a virtual world at all times. Why do I robotically check Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and then start the cycle all over again, just to see the same pointless posts by people I hardly talk to in person? Why do I feel the need to refresh pages when I could instead have a real conversation to the people standing right next to me?
I admit that I am addicted; I can’t even imagine a world without my phone or my prized Instagram account. At the same time, I want to live life to the fullest and preserve my ability to hold real conversations in person. I don’t want an intrusive device constantly dictating my desires and actions, turning me into a social media robot incapable of human interaction. What is the point in being Instagram famous if you can’t even hold a productive conversation with someone in person?
Luckily, I have created a list of some things that we can do daily to find a healthy balance between the two worlds we are living in:
1. The dinner phone game.
When eating at a restaurant, have all of your friends or family put their cell phones in a pile in the center of the table. Whoever looks at their phone has to pay for everyone’s meal!
2. Put your phone on airplane mode.
How many times have you paused while reading, watching a television show, or doing homework because of a notification from your phone? While distractions can be saviors especially from the dreaded act of studying, too many distractions can be harmful. Put your phone on silent and instead focus on the task in front of you every once in a while to be the most productive.
3. Go outside and leave your phone home.
Stop and smell the roses, people. Literally. Our world is such a beautiful place, but its beauty can easily be lost in the distraction of our phones. Go for a run, a walk, or even a bike ride without your cell phone and take the time to appreciate the magnificence of the nature surrounding us.
It is no dark secret that social media is indeed changing the world as we know it in both negative and positive ways. Social media allows us to meet people, get to know one another better, and constantly be connected with friends and family. At the same time, almost everyone is guilty of choosing virtual worlds over the real world sometimes, absorbed in our phones instead of focusing on reality around us. I am not here to tell you that cell phones are bad and that the world is doomed because of it. But, I do challenge you to be present in life. Don’t constantly have half of your mind trapped in the world of social media; take the time to appreciate the life we have and the beautiful opportunities that surround us outside of the virtual world!
http://www.refinery29.com/death-of-conversation-photography?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=post&unique_id=entry_77170#slidehttp://www.akademiai.com/content/b288753537587502/fulltext.pdf