In the midst of the 21st century, technology has become more reliable for people of all ages. Is this an article about bashing technology? Yes and no. I am currently a college student studying broadcast communications, so, of course, I love technology and learning about it. From informing and persuading those around me as well as getting the daily news on the world I live in and the friends and family I have, it's all there for me; technology does its job. However, it is bad that technology is affecting our in-person conversations, events, and meets with others.
Our generation has become so attached to the attention they get not really in-person, but on social media; we crave the Facebook and Instagram likes like they are going out of style. We worry about the life of luxury and the things we cannot necessarily have in the blink of an eye like a tropical vacation to the Bahamas or to live in a house as nice as the Obama's. We spend so much time waiting and wanting things that are not worth the time because they are so unrealistic (unless, of course, we win the lottery) and hard to obtain. So what are the ways we can start focusing on the things we need? Happiness, love, friendships, food, water, clothes, and shelter are just the start of the long list. By writing this, I am not necessarily bashing those that can afford a vacation to the Bahamas or a billion dollar home, but I am explaining how if we detach from technology/social media when we are around with those who bring us love and happiness, we are not only going to give and receive these emotions, but we will also realize how much more engaging our relationships with others will get. When we are sitting in a restaurant with a close friend or significant other, it is so easy to grab out your phone to text someone back because then that turns into checking Facebook, to checking your email, to Instagramming your time with the other person, repeat. We begin to care so much about others through our phone and about the attention we receive from publishing where we are with who. Our relationships with others are more "alive", as I like to say, when we decide to stop doing this so consistently; we can when we please, but do people really need to know about every Starbucks run you make with Becky? Not necessarily.
Cherishing the conversations and real-life experience with our Facebook friends or Instagram followers allows us to connect about anything with emotion. On Facebook Messenger, we could ask Becky how she's doing and she would say, "Good! How are you?" or if you ask Jason why he is upset about so and so, he could put something like "Why do you care...?" Not only do we interpret these emotions in our head, but also if they were expressed in person, they may be a bit more suitable to the other person's interpretation or enthusiasm of each response. We get so much more from others if we just put our phones down; we engage in more conversations, emotions, and actually do not lose track or interest of what they were talking about.
Sure, social media is an excellent way of expressing current events and emotions with people that may be close enough to see on a daily basis, but we cannot let that affect our relationships with those who are close enough to see and catch up with on a daily basis. Keep a phone check short and simple if you absolutely are expecting something coming to you from your phone. If not, then sit back, relax, put your phone away, and continue to make your relationships more alive and healthy with the ones you love and mean a lot to you, with or without a Facebook like.
