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Some might say technology prevents people from forming personal bonds with others around them. Others may argue it helps people stay in contact with those who are not in the same place as them.
As I was sitting in one of my classes waiting for it to start, I noticed an interesting mix of both perspectives. Some people were sitting quietly at their desks, on their phones, communicating with others via some sort of social media. Others were conversing with the people sitting around them. I was in the former group.
I think technology and social media are good for keeping in contact with people you don’t always get a chance to see, UW Oshkosh freshman Yari Lasanta agreed that without technology, she wouldn’t be able to stay in touch with family.
“I FaceTime my family every day, and I wouldn’t be able to do that without technology,” Lasanta said.
Most people would be inclined to agree phones today are extremely helpful in keeping us connected.
On the other hand, as UWO freshman Connor Byczek said, phones can stop people from communicating face-to-face.
“They tend to pull us away from the social aspect of actually talking to people,” Byczek said.
I’m sure everyone has been out to eat and people at the table are sitting on their phones and not actually talking to anyone present. Chances are some people in that group are texting each other even though they are two feet away from each other. It’s a complete waste of time to go out with people and not even interact with them.
UWO freshman Allie Marineau said she believes, “talking to people online can actually help initiate face-to-face meetings.”
I wholeheartedly agree with this because that’s how I met her. We started talking on Facebook and then decided to meet in person and our relationship has grown stronger ever since. Social media and technology can provide a means to meet new people in person.
However, even though technology encourages more online interaction, UWO freshman Ella Quinn said she still firmly believes in spending time with others without using technology or staring at phones.
“We should all just talk to people more instead of being so concerned about our phones,” Quinn said.
Similarly, technology can also harm our ability to make new friends. UWO junior Kiera Simanovsky said phone usage can prevent many people from making new friends.
“Some people struggle with making friends at school because they’re too busy on their phones,” Simanwovsky said.
Many times in social situations, those who are a little more shy tend to pull out their phones and not interact with others, therefore hurting their ability to make new friends.
I agree there are downsides to always being on our phones. We all definitely miss out on meeting new people in the world around us. We don’t talk as much to people while we are waiting in line or are hanging out with our friends because instead of reaching out to people and starting a conversation, we reach for our phones.
More and more people are becoming less connected with others around them due to modern technology.
However, I believe the pros of using technology to connect with others largely outweigh the cons.
Social media allows us to stay in contact with old friends and family we don’t get to see anymore. At college, we have the friends we made here, but we also have friends from our hometowns.
Thanks to cell phones and social media, I can stay in contact with all my old friends and not lose those friendships. I can also stay in contact with my family because I don’t get to see them every day like I used to. I really enjoy those benefits.
I also like being able to meet new people on social media. An example is the Facebook group for our incoming class here at UWO. I’ve met so many new people through that and made so many new friends that I would not have been able to make otherwise.
I enjoy being able to constantly be connected to my friends here. Through technology, we are able to talk to each other all the time and arrange times and places to meet up in person. It helps us to grow closer to one another and strengthen our friendships.
