We have reached a point in our existence as human beings where our technology is starting to interfere with our face-to-face communication. Technology, especially the use of cell phones, is changing the meaning of social interaction.
Girls’ Night at my house has become a no-cell phone zone. My friends groan and grumble as they reluctantly agree at the beginning of the night, but by the end, the thought of checking Twitter and text messages is surpassed by hours of laughing and crazy memories.
To an outsider, what I do might seem like a cruel and unusual punishment. To me, it’s a necessary precaution I’ve had to take in order to save my friends and myself from losing our love for spending time together.
It’s a sad day when lunch, the only time any of us have a good solid 20 minutes to have a real conversation, becomes time to scroll Pinterest for the newest “do-it-yourself” or Instagram the “cutest” picture of the same salad a girl eats for lunch every day. I’ve witnessed an entire table of girls, maybe nine of them, at lunch just eating silently as they scrolled through their iPhones.
Phones are no longer simply a tool used to check in with others to make face-to-face plans. They’re considered a social activity. It’s become rare for anyone to be able to leave their cell phone off for a while without having anxiety about what they might be missing.
I refuse to get a smart phone. Why? I know that if I get a smart phone, I’ll get addicted to checking my apps, Snapchats and whatever else might pique my interest. When a person has all the information they could ever want at their fingertips, it’s understandable to want to take advantage of that.
Cell phones keep us connected to others that we may not get a chance to speak to in person: that much is true. But is a tweet or Snapchat from that one girl you met “that one time” worth taking your attention away from a real conversation?
Technology has changed the way our brains are wired. We are obsessed with knowing the newest update, the newest information. Websites like Facebook and Twitter have glorified the “daily update” to the point where people rely on it to learn about the lives of others, instead of communicating in person.
New technology is exciting and interesting, and what 2014 is supposed to have. But when technology becomes a distraction strong enough to pull us away from real social contact, it’s time to power down.