Amanda Bernocco Staff Writer
Smartphones have become second nature to our generation. We were toddlers when our parents were getting their first cell phones; back when people were still using beepers. Technology has advanced so much in our life span that many students don’t know how they would live without it. Is our dependence on this technology a good or bad thing? Post students debate this question without a definite answer.
“It’s both good and bad,” said Danielle Weeks, a junior Music Performance major. “It is convenient and allows us to accomplish more, but it also makes our interactions with others worse.”
Weeks added that it’s convenient because you can send a quick text to a friend if you just want to say hi instead of going through the much longer process of mailing a letter (and really, when was the last time you sent anyone a letter?). However, she also said that people are worse at communicating in person as a result. After her statement she looked at the table in front of her and laughed because a laptop, Smartphone and iPad were spread out across the table in front of her and her friend.
This is the predicament that many students are finding them- selves in. Students can acknowledge the negatives of technology; although, they also realize that the convenience technology provides will cause it to be around forever.
“Most of the population has an iPhone. Our lives depend on it,” said Andre Amaro, a senior Political Science major, as he pointed out that every single one of his friends sitting around him had their iPhones sitting on the table in front of them while they were hanging out.
Amaro added that he is on his iPhone in every class. He feels that his life revolves around his phone and the information and social networking inside of it. His friends at the table were smiling at his confession and nodded their heads because they are guilty of the same thing.
Many students admit that Smartphones have some negative effects on their socialization while they are hanging out with their friends.
“We don’t talk when we eat. We are all just on our phones,” said Maria Kaloidas, a freshman who is undecided on her major. She laughed at how terrible it was, but she accepts the fact that this is the way it is.
Chris Schmidt, a senior Public Relations major, and his friends have picked up on their bad hab- its, so they made it into a game. “When we go out to eat, the first person who uses their phone pays the bill,” he said.
Anna Scheblein, an adult student who is a senior Sociology major and Journalism minor, recalls getting her first cell phone. “They weighed a ton, and were about the size of a landline’s handset,” she said.
“I think that this evolution in communication technology is a positive one, for the most part. It has allowed us to not only remain in touch with friends and family in distant places, but has also allowed us to connect with people we never would have had the opportunity to otherwise,” she added.
“However, one disadvantage may be that we sometimes don’t make enough time to connect socially face-to-face. A quick text, e-mail, or logging onto Facebook doesn’t lend itself to the one-on- one long lasting relationships built by physically engaging with some- one,” she adds.
Although Smartphones will most likely always be present in our lives, it doesn’t mean that we should ignore the negatives of technology. Be cognizant of how often you use your phone when you are having a face-to-face social interaction with someone else, make an initiative to have relationships that aren’t just digi- tal, and also make sure to have copies of everything you store digitally—you never know when your device will crash. Technology doesn’t live forever.
Be First to Comment