In this day and age, even when you’re by yourself, you’re never alone. Every documented statement you make is being followed by hundreds of your closest friends. Your anonymous yaks are being upped by hundreds of your closest (in proximity) peers. You snap stories for your friends to watch and stay up to date on your every move. No, with all of the best technology in the palm of your hand, it’s impossible to be alone. However, is it enough to only spend time with friends in cyberspace? Taking a walk around campus, it seems like it is.
I think we’re all guilty of spending more time with our phones than actual people. Take a look around before class, or on the bus, or at dinner. Inevitably you will see a majority of your peers sitting with their eyes glued to the screen. There are other actual, real life human beings feet away, yet most choose their phones. What has happened? While O-Week was weird and chaotic, and I doubt that many people would want to go back, there was something so organic about the interactions around campus. People spoke to each other on the buses, introduced themselves to lonely Marketplace dwellers, and even stopped to have casual conversations with strangers. While half of it was awkward and the other half was unmemorable, it was nice to actually talk to people outside of our carefully constructed friend groups. New perspectives were seen. New relationships were made and broken. While apps like Tindr may allow for new encounters, nothing can really replace in person exchanges.
Duke is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people. Why sit in solitude when you could be meeting interesting and intelligent individuals like yourself? Technology is great and all, but so are people. Give them a chance.