I walk up to the door of my classroom and turn the knob — it’s locked. I walk down the hallway to the other door and try again, and that one is locked too. As I turn to lean up against the wall and wait, I realize that half my class is sitting in the hallway. Yet, no one informed me that the door was locked. Maybe everyone was just shy. More likely, they were too absorbed in their technological world to take a chance on face-to-face communication.
It’s no secret that technology is taking over. A recent study conducted by Baylor University found that college students spend almost half their waking hours on their cell phones. Then add TV and laptop use to that.
The effect technology has on MSU students and how they interact with one another concerns me. I first noticed the impact during my freshman year, when nearly everyone in my hallway shut their doors and turned on their TVs. Students were not concerned with meeting one another, they wanted to just click a button and see familiar faces on their favorite shows.
The effect of technology also turns up on the sidewalks of campus, where the majority of students are staring at their phone or attached to auditory leashes — my high school English teacher’s favorite name for headphones. And we’ve all pulled this move: someone is walking your way, so you quickly reach for your phone and look down to avoid eye contact.
MSU, and society overall, would be so much better if everyone detached from their phones, laptops and other devices to actually pay attention to things going on around them. Yes, it’s true that there are living, breathing people walking beside you every day when you go to class. Smile! Make eye contact. Maybe even venture a friendly hello. When waiting for class, it’s easy to ignore those around you. But if you strike up a conversation with your classmates, you’d be surprised to see how willing they are to talk. You can talk about anything, from professors to exams to football games.
Human connections are so much more valuable than any of technology’s benefits. If you unplug and speak up, you will have the opportunity to engage in another person’s life — an interaction that’s definitely more fulfilling than one with a screen.
Lauren Owings is an intern at The State News. Reach her at opinion@statenews.com.
