Editorial
Communication silenced by tech
March 26, 2008
Technology is great, but it also seems like it has hampered the face-to-face social interaction in our daily lives.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Facebook, cell phones or iPods; our generation seems to be getting more addicted to them by the day.
How many times a day is too many to check Facebook? Realistically the answer is probably two, but we so often use it as a means of communication it is hard not to be on it constantly.
Facebook offers features that are somewhat like private messaging and message boards and that makes it so easy to communicate with each other.
Instead of going to see your friend across campus, why not just send them a message on Facebook and see what’s going on? It saves the effort of the walk on days that are either too cold or too hot.
But despite the uses of Facebook, there are still downfalls. Some people can’t seem to get enough of it and are on the site 24/7.
Cell phones are used by almost anyone these days. Some six-year-olds have them. Even grandparents use them to keep in contact with their loved ones. But cell phones can cause problems, too.
Students text message during class, people have inappropriate conversations in public and sometimes even ignore a friend because they are too busy texting or talking.
Even something as simple as listening to music makes daily conversation difficult. There are so many students on this campus that listen to music on their iPod’s or MP3 players so loud while walking across campus they don’t even notice if someone says hello to them.
When that happens, their friends are stuck looking stupid saying hi and waving to someone who doesn’t say hi back and the communication between them dies.
Obviously, cell phones make it easier to send a quick text when you have a question for a friend. There is no point in calling to say “Hey, I’ll meet you for lunch in an hour” when you can just say in a text. And music is enjoyable, entertaining and relaxing. It’s something we all need in our daily lives. And Facebook is something that we can use when we have a longer question about missing a class or whatnot.
Technology is great; we just have to learn how to embrace it without letting it change us and how we act. Use the technology that our era has given us, but don’t forget to keep in touch with your friends, pay attention in class and just remember to say hello.