College is hard. I think everyone can agree on that. From papers, to midterms, to finals, all with an amount of sleep that just doesn’t suffice. I’ll say it again, college is hard.
Now, imagine college without technology. No laptops to take with you to do work in your favorite study spot. No computers to type up 10 page essays. No online study guides. No Quizlet. No email to easily contact professors and classmates. Even something as simple as not being able to look up the meaning of a word you do not know. I hate to sound like a “classic millennial” when I say this, but I cannot imagine going through college without technology.
Although social media and technology are incredibly efficient and allow humans to have any piece of information at the swipe of a finger, I feel nervous when I think about how dependent our society has become on technology. I can’t imagine not being able to text someone when I need something, or being able to google a random question when it pops in my head. Thinking about all of the things that I do on a daily basis--important things--that involve technology makes me anxious to think about. I would get absolutely no work done if I did not have technology at my disposal. My grades would plummet if I had no way of getting to a computer. Most, if not all, of my classes require me to submit homework online. If I had no way to a computer, I know for a fact that my GPA would suffer because of it.
Think about how many people you contact on a daily basis because of technology. Texting, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, you name it, we must interact with hundreds of people just daily. I am constantly being updated on my friends’ lives, while also updating them on mine. There are literally apps where you can see where your friends are and track their every move. As great as technology is at connecting people, where do we draw the line? If I set my phone down for an hour to read a book and have time to myself, I find myself feeling like the world has done a complete 180 while I was absent from social media. Any free time that my generation is given is generally spent on checking social media. Ten minutes between classes usually serves as a time to see what you have missed out on in the time you were in class--that is, if you didn’t spend your class time on Facebook.
While I find myself guilty of all of this and more, I feel that taking a step back and reflecting on how much of an impact technology has on my life is needed. It is important to realize that while yes, being so connected to everyone at all times is great and can really keep friendships alive, how genuine are these friendships? You can FaceTime someone for hours on end every day of the week, but there is nothing quite like sitting down face to face with a friend. There is no better friendship than one where you can be together and not feel the need to check your phone. Sad isn’t it? That something “real” really just means you don’t feel the urge be “in” on what is going on in everyone else’s lives online, but just in the life of that person.
I think technology has made my generation unable to live in the moment. Special memories are now put online for the entire world to see. I want to go back to a world where I can be young and free and don’t have to worry about hundreds of other people seeing it. I want to take each moment as it comes, and not have to be concerned with how it’s going to look on Instagram later. I want to have fun with friends and not feel the need to tell the world about it, because it was a special memory made with special people. Above all else, I want to be present, and I feel that that is something that my generation needs to work on.
