It is 2017, and I am over surface level conversations. The ones that start out with “what’s your major?” as if that tells you anything about me. Sure, I get it, it’s a way to break the ice. But today, our conversations have no depth. As a society, we care so much about what others think, that we question every word we say. Instead of having face-to-face conversations, we would rather message someone through social media because “it’s less awkward.”
As you can see this is hard for me because I am someone who craves deep conversations. Conversations about personal passions, interests, goals, and dreams. Most of the conversations we have today, tell us nothing about each other. Instead of being ourselves, we are constantly just being clones of one another.
Personally, I want to be viewed as someone who is more than my major. To me, each and every one of us is original in our own unique ways. To be honest, there are thousands of people with the same major as you, but there is only one you. In our society, I think it’s important to break down these barriers we put up and begin to have real conversations.
We Live in a Society Where...
1. It's better to hold everything in and pretend that you’re fine, then to share what’s truly on your mind.
I get it. It’s not easy opening up to someone you don’t know. But what good does that do by putting on a mask that implies you’re always okay? If anything, by sharing your struggles, you may help someone else who is struggling to help them see that they are not alone.
2. “Caring too much” is viewed as a weakness.
My question is, how does one care too much? And why would caring ever be a weakness? To me, I see no limit to caring. Caring shows your character, and strength to help others even if you're the one who needs help. And trust me, as the world, we could definitely all learn to care more.
3. People would rather play games and tell you what you want to hear, then tell the truth.
I think we all need to start being honest with each other, and most importantly, ourselves. Playing games only wastes both parties time. Instead, it's important for us to be clear with everything we say and make sure its what we believe to be true.
4. We are attached to technology.
Trust me, technology is great. But why is it that when we are surrounded by others, we are constantly checking our phones? It’s like we aren’t ever living in the now, instead, we are living through the lives of others through social media. For me, I crave conversations where you forget you have a phone. Where you forget about what other people are doing because you are in the now. You are living.
5. We are infatuated with materialistic things.
What if I were to tell you all the material things you put so much value on, are simply just illusions? Yes, I am talking about your designer purse, luxurious house, or even your insane body. They are all illusions. Illusions that give false perceptions of who you are, feeding into the social constructs placed in our society. Try to focus on collecting moments and real life experiences, instead of tangible things.
6. We are never satisfied.
With every new thing we buy, it is just another thing. Simply after a week, we lose interest. Think about it, we are trained to get bored easily. We are trained to always want the new and best thing. But, the conversations you have and the way you impact peoples lives will stay forever. Your legacy is everlasting and holds so much depth, which is worth much more than money can buy.
7. We are afraid to interact with others.
I understand, we live in a world that is afraid to open up. Afraid to even say hi to the person next to them. To me, that is scary. Think about it, in our lives, we are constantly going to be introduced to new people and new surroundings. When applying for jobs, going to school, or even just going through a drive-thru, we are interacting with people. I think it’s scary how afraid we are as a society to interact. For example, the idea that we would rather message someone through a plastic device, then have a face-to-face conversation.
8. We care so much about what others think of us.
Let's be honest, we will never meet society's expectations and it's idea of perfection. It's until you realize and accept this, that you can move on and create the life you desire. Attempting to be this unrealistic perfection will only lead to unhappiness and endless insecurities.
9. Meeting people through social media apps is the “norm.”
It is still crazy to me that people actually form relationships from social media apps. It saddens me that people feel more comfortable to communicate behind a computer screen than they do in front of a human being. What are they afraid of? Communication through a screen misses the emotion, body language, and human reactions that a real in-person interaction would have. Instead, we are left rereading and reinterpreting every message that was received on our screen.
10. We build more walls than we do relationships.
We put up walls and boundaries to "protect ourselves." But what exactly are we protecting ourselves from? Is it creating relationships, possibly getting to know someone interesting, or finding someone you have so much in common with? What's wrong with that? In the end, we are all human.
