Picture this: I’m in the student union observing a sea of VSU students from all walks of life. Some are briskly walking to class while some are just in search of a bite to eat. Some are sitting with friends and chatting while others are making small talk in between their gait to their preferred destination. Though these people were separated off into various clusters and had different obligations at the moment, everyone had one specific thing in common: there was a phone in almost every individual’s hand. Whether in use or not, it was there attached like a phantom extremity.
My mind began to wonder – is our generation that consumed with technology and social media that we can’t go without our phones in our hands for just one minute? We can’t even enjoy a meet-up with our friends without putting a picture of what we’re eating on Instagram. Is it really important to tweet what we’re doing at every given moment?
I find that we can become so consumed with our phones and social media that we lose touch with our surroundings and ourselves. Now granted, us millennials are a part of a society where technology continuously advances and our means of communication constantly changes (Facebook and Twitter has over 1 billion unique monthly visitors combined); however, it doesn’t mean that we have to allow it to turn us into tech-obsessed drones.
Are you unsure as to whether you’re attached to your phone or social media? If any of the signs below apply to you, you may want to consider putting your phone aside every now and then.
1. You check your phone for messages and social media accounts before you brush your teeth in the morning.
2. Your phone is practically infused into your hand.
3. You speak social media outside of social media. Like calling others by their Twitter handles in public.
4. Daily activities (attending class, working, etc) are unbearable because you’re wondering about missed notifications.
5. You anticipate hitting red lights so that you can reply to a text. Or worse: you text the entire time you drive.
6. You’ve fallen asleep in the middle of texting or scrolling through a social media site before.
7. You feel a certain way when a social media site is down.
8. You question others for not having a particular social media account.
9. Those hundreds of likes, favorites, or RTs from your post actually made your day.
10. You delete a post if it doesn’t get enough likes, favorites, or RTs.
11. You spend more time on your phone or on social media than doing anything else productive.
12. The first thing you wonder when entering a new friend’s home is “I wonder if they have Wifi…”
13. You actually plan your posts.
14. The first thing you search and hope for in a room is an outlet.
15. You’d much rather communicate with someone via a computer or phone.
Did more than half of the signs relate to you? If your answer is yes then it might be time to evaluate your consumption of all things technology and media. Remember: there’s so much more to life than getting numerous follower requests, likes on a picture or status post, or thousands of retweets. Don’t let technology and these social media accounts ruin you. HCxo