Is it me or are people becoming more awkward? Maybe it isn’t necessarily the people, but the way they converse. As college students, we are constantly in contact with new people. From meeting friends when you go out or talking to someone on the first day of class, the amount of interaction we have is incredible. Think of the last conversation you had with a friend. Sure you probably talked about the latest gossip, complained about homework or discussed the latest drama of your favorite Netflix show. But after a while, the conversation dies. So what do we do?
We turn to our phones.I can’t tell you how many times I have been in a room with my friends and we are all on our phones. For a while no one seems to say anything and when someone finally talks it’s usually along the lines of “Oh my gosh….did you see this on Twitter?” or “Who is that on Snapchat?”
What is our world coming to? Are we that dependent on technology as our form of socialization? As young people, it’s our goal to be connected. We have to know what’s going on in the social world 24/7 365. With this need to be connected also comes the need to be liked. It seems like we focus more on the witty Instagram captions and captivating tweets to help feed our rewards center in our brains. Therefore, it seems as if our brains thrive more on receiving text messages than interaction with a real person.
I believe that social media is a huge factor when it comes to our inability to socialize. Don’t get me wrong I think it’s a great tool that keeps us connected to others…but it shouldn’t be an alternative for us to avoid physical contact with others. It’s hard to imagine a world where we stand in line quietly instead of pretending to scroll through our Instagram timeline to avoid conversations with the chatty person in front of us. Phones have served us a safety net, our go to gadget for an awkward moment you want to avoid. In a way it’s like the iPhone has become the new favorite childhood blanket. I mean think about it…..ALL of us carry our phone with us EVERYWHERE and even though some of us hate to admit it…we can’t even sleep without our phone isn’t right next to us.
I encourage you to put down the phone and talk to the person next to you. I can promise you that the relationships you form with others are far more valuable than one with an expensive piece of plastic.