Movies have always seemed to portray the typical “college life” as kids hanging out in each other’s rooms, throwing Frisbees, hanging out in the grass reading, playing music. The sad part is, well, it isn’t realistic.
Yes, students here do all of those activities. But they are all interrupted by cell phones lighting up with text messages, calling out to their owners, saying, “This is much more interesting, check it out!” Even during planned events, like say, movie nights or weekly TV shows, most of us don’t actually watch them. We glance at the screen in between text messages and notifications. We don’t watch to be entertained and bond with our friends. We watch to be entertained while waiting for other friends to text or Snapchat us, as if one form of technology wasn’t enough. [pullquote align=”right”]And when everyone else is on their phone, you relieve the awkwardness by taking out your phone as well, whether or not you even have messages or notifications to respond to.[/pullquote]
This obsession with phones has taken over the classroom as well. I personally attend a class where we are allowed “texting breaks.” Many students might love this idea, because who doesn’t want to be responding to their texts while sitting bored in class? But I look around, and I see a group of students who, if they just put down their phones and talked to each other, would find that there are potential friends around them, everywhere.
Socializing in college has become isolated in that we block ourselves from rich and real experiences, and yet it is so globalized. Do we take pictures with our friends because we actually want to capture that special moment with them? Or is it because you want to post it somewhere everyone (including your crush, ex, or whoever it is you want in particular) to see your filtered, almost photo-shopped face?
It breaks my heart when I see what appears to be a group of good friends all on their phones at the same time. I mean, if they really wanted to spend time with each other, why would they be messaging anyone else?
I understand that it is hard to ignore. It is for me. And there’s no problem with responding to an urgent text, or telling your friend that you have to take a moment to talk to someone in need. But to text in front of someone’s face while they talk is simply rude. There’s no excuse for it. Everyone is so caught up in their separate worlds, thinking that their lives are being shared with everyone else, but they aren’t. They are just shared in this intangible, judgmental space.
Perhaps I’m an old soul. Or maybe I was born in the wrong generation. But I know for a fact that many people feel the same way. It’s just easier to take out your phone while you wait instead of interacting with the people around you. And when everyone else is on their phone, you relieve the awkwardness by taking out your phone as well, whether or not you even have messages or notifications to respond to.
As much as I love being able to quickly communicate with the people I care about, I find it truly disturbing when I see so many students on their phones. There is something to special, so real about interacting with living, breathing people beside you. You’re sharing the same space, the same air, the same environment. Why not take the moment to be in the moment, instead of destroying it with novel-length texts and meaningless selfies?
Samantha Mineroff is a first-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at SM825021@wcupa.edu.