For my second class of "Media Theory" with Dr. Tewksbury, we started off the class with something rather different from a lecture. We were told to take our coats and head across the way to the student union, or Gally as every NU student calls it. We were told to not look at our phone, not talk to anyone, and just sit and stare at people for 15 minutes.
That amount of time may not seem like much, but I was able to learn a lot about what college students do subconsciously throughout normal human interaction.
1. Everyone is obsessed with their phones.
What? People text a lot? No way! Well yes, literally every single person was using their phone in some way: texting, listening to music, checking social media, just holding it. It's crazy how attached we are to our phones. Just to clarify, I am not being preachy. I am a big offender of having a phone fetish. I am just stating facts. While someone is sitting and having a conversation with someone they are also having a conversation with 10 other people at the same time. It's not exactly wrong, it's just our generation.
2. We are all crazy multitaskers.
You cannot deny that you have tried to multitask while trying to get some homework done. Whether it is trying to watch Netflix while studying, eating lunch while finishing a paper, or carry out a conversation while reading a chapter for class. Let me be straight up with you, it cannot be done. The eating one, yeah that might work. But the others that take up actual brain power besides shoving food in your face? Sorry, not a good idea. Of course this is from my own personal experience so if it works for you then all the power to you!
3. Our posture is terrible.
We all slouch and "shlump" probably because of the weight of all of our responsibilities. Very few people that I observed actually stood or sat up straight, myself not included.
4. People talk about each other...alot.
It is such an easy topic of conversation you can have with mostly everyone. It is extremely unintentional to most because you don't want to tear down someone's reputation, you just want to strike up a conversation with something interesting. Still it is bad and hurts feelings, so boo.
5. It's all about the body language.
I found how people's body language around others was fascinating. Just by looking at them for a couple seconds, I could give you a strong guess on what there relationship is. Someone that seems interested in the conversation is often perky. If they are playing with their hair, clothes or always fussing to look good, then this person most likely has a crush on who they are talking to. If the people are being formal, have great posture and seem active in the conversation, then they most likely just met this person and are trying to make a good first impression. Just to name a few examples.
This was a very interesting exercise. Even though some found it odd to sit in a public place, not on their phone and just stare at people, I thought it was cool to pay attention to how people behave. Give it a try sometime and see how people behave without thinking.
