The age of technology has brought about a period of human development that is unlike anything we have ever seen in the history of humanity. If I had to put a face on the entire movement, it would be the smartphone. Everyone has a phone. Middle schoolers have the iPhone 6, and so does your grandma. This piece of technology has revolutionized the way we socialize in both amazing and horrific ways.
Never before have we been so connected. I can keep in contact with my Indian friend from Ohio, my favorite professor, and everyone back home by simply clicking a couple keys followed by send. Even if we are no longer physically present in each other’s lives we can still have a listing impact because of the instant connection provided by our phones.
We are very much caught up in the world we can create with the power of our phones, so much so that we often forsake the face-to-face human connection we stroll past while sending a text to our friend. Every waiting room, every line, every person we’ve awkwardly ridden an elevator with could have potentially changed our lives, but what do we do whenever we come into one of these situations? We pull out our phones. Why would we go to the effort of introducing ourselves and asking how someone’s day was when we can just pull out that magic box and get sucked two days back in your news feed? Among us, the art of small talk is almost extinct. We have never been more connected, yet so divided.
This is very small picture of the way our phones have impacted our lives. They have become a centerpiece in our human existence and a very powerful tool. We have all our friends at our fingertips, but disregard the people in front of us. The smartphone is not the cause of our social turtle-shelling; it is simply the crutch we use to take ourselves away from social opportunity. Please, when you get the chance, give someone a kind smile and ask them how their day was, and if you are lucky enough to have it happen to you, describe your day. Tell them about the paper you have due or your dog that died. Remember we are all a part of the human family; there are no strangers, just potential friends.
