By Connor Small
Writer
With the rise of new technologies, such as the smartphone, iPad and various social media sites, it sometimes feels as if being connected easily is quickly becoming less of a novelty and more of a necessity. Even right now as I write this, I have my Facebook and Twitter accounts open in the background, and I just got a text from my mom asking how my day was. Lately, it seems reality is viewed through a monitor rather than my own two eyes.
It’s unavoidable; the world has shrunk as a result of increased technological connectivity. I can go on my computer and find just about any piece of information I want from the first page of results provided by Google, and that doesn’t even scratch the surface. Think hard: when was the last time you clicked that little blue number two at the bottom of Google’s search results? And it’s not only that, as Google will auto-search as you type and show you results in real time. In my opinion, this increase in technology has lead to an inflated sense of instant gratification among people of our generation.
I sometimes find myself frustrated when it takes more than 10 seconds for a website to load, and I will spend hours at a time on Facebook. This growing independence on instant connectivity just seems unhealthy to me. If this weren’t enough, I can’t go more than 20 minutes without having some sort of buzz or ping emanating from my phone. It’s a stretch to call mobile devices phones anymore, as one can simultaneously access email, play Temple Run and look up the name of that actor whose name is on the tip of your tongue, all the while listening to music or talking on the phone.
Technology usage has also taken over social interactions. Next time you’re walking through campus, stop, take a look around and count the number of people with their noses pressed to their phones. Texting has become the main form of communication these days; my mom seems to be the only one who actually calls me. A large chunk of my daily interactions occur through Facebook, Twitter or text messaging, and unfortunately, many people have come to base their self worth off of how many notifications they receive on each site. For crying out loud, even some colleges and employers accept a candidate based on a Facebook profile.
In my opinion, technology that was once meant to make our lives easier has bred a generation that has their fingers stuck to their phones, frustrated when their device fails. If I see one more status update resembling “I have so much homework, but I can’t get off Facebook,” I might scream. And God help us if a printer breaks. I think what we all need to do is take a step back, turn our devices off and smell the fresh air for once.
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