You’d think I meant financial cost, but a few hundred dollars either way isn’t really the matter at hand here.
Every day I walk around campus plugged in to my earphones, listening to my music and every day I see that I am not the only one disconnected from the world, because there’s so many people who do this.
It’s like our technology has become a growth, so much a part of us that we cannot do without it, we can no longer distinguish between the cyber and the real. I’ve heard so many people say “I can’t live without my cell phone.” Technology does help us stay constantly connected to the ones we love who aren’t with us at that moment, but how much does it separate us from the present reality?
When you’re in the digital realm all the time, you no longer fully interact with the people surrounding you. Have you noticed how hard it’s become to strike up a conversation with someone in person, even when it would have been so much easier if you’d seen them online?
It seems we’re so focused on chatting, texting, checking our Facebook or e-mail that we never actually manage to stop and be with someone face to face. Even when we are, all it takes is a little beep from our phone and we’re frantically texting back.
We spurn the person right in front of us for the people in cyberspace, because even as we sit there ‘listening’ to the person we have in the flesh we’re secretly waiting for the next beep.The art of communication seems to have advanced with technology, I’m in the States but I can be on Skype with a friend from England, talking to a friend somewhere in Africa on Facebook, another one in Australia on MSN.
We conduct whole love affairs over the net, loving someone in an augmented reality so far from where we are. Nevertheless the sincerity of face-to-face communication is being lost.
I can’t remember the last time I really laughed out loud as many times as I put “lol” in a conversation, I’ve never given anyone this many kisses and hugs “xxxxxoxoxoxoxooooooxoooox” at once. Yet online we express our love and joy with more enthusiasm to the people we care about than we do in real life when they’re right in front of us.
So what are we creating? Are we creating false relationships, a sense of closeness that’s exaggerated and doesn’t reflect how we truly feel? I can’t spend my life here because the people I see everyday are strangers to me. All the people I really love are in cyberspace, and I would spend hours online to be close to those people rather than take a step outside and learn about someone new. Now, isn’t that concerning?
Take the time to really focus on knowing the people around you. It’s amazing, the things you notice, the facial expressions, and nuances of a person you get to appreciate when your head isn’t bent down texting someone else. It’s no crime to keep those who are far away close, just don’t neglect the relationships you have with people around you. Turn off your phone, shut down your laptop, switch off your I-pod and just be with one person at once.
Just look, listen and relish the person who’s sitting in front of you. I challenge you all to take the time out to just do that once a day: sit down and really listen, really be there.
Philippa Hatendi can be reached at phatendi@ut.edu.