I have come to believe that technology distances us away from ourselves; we use technology to get away from reality because we don’t know how to be alone. We browse through the Internet when we’re sitting at home, waiting to go to class, simply going about our days, when we are completely isolated from human interaction. “I’ll just check my Facebook,” “I’ll just see what’s new on Twitter,” “What’s trending on Instagram, Tumblr, Foursquare?” The ironic thing is, when checking these social networking sites, we’re not experiencing human interaction, we’re experiencing false perceptions of humans through a machine. It’s not genuine, and it’s an excuse for us to avoid solitude because when we’re alone we feel real, profound emotions, and I think the idea of that scares us.
I have a nine-year-old sister who has an extension of an arm Š—ê an iPad. Have you ever tried talking to a nine year old who has her eyes glued to a computer screen? It’s impossible. You’ll ask a question or make a comment and she’s completely unresponsive. This iPad is almost always attached to her hand, and she is constantly choosing to stay inside to “play” on the Internet rather than going outside to play with friends.
But it’s not her fault; my parents are the ones who bought it for her. She doesn’t know any better. They claim it’s for intellectual use, but are they just too lazy to have to talk to their own kid? Or maybe they’re afraid of what her tiny mind could create and ask with all those bubbly child-like ideas and feelings that she has.
My little sister is growing up into a half-human, half-robot: a cyborg.
She is so accustomed to the Internet that she actually prefers it to human interaction. Real communication can be difficult to handle because some of the time it is negative, uncomfortable or vulnerable, so we choose to shelter ourselves from it through technology.
We pick up our phones when we don’t know what to do with ourselves. But why can’t we just be? Right here, right now, without any attachments. I walked into an elevator the other day occupied by one man. The entire elevator ride consisted of him staring down at his phone after acknowledging me for a brief moment with a phony half-smile when I entered. Of course, I wasn’t expecting to have an in-depth conversation with this man whose name I didn’t even know, but the fact that he couldn’t even stand there alone, without his phone in hand, scares me. We’re becoming completely distracted from what is going on around us because of a world online. And here’s the kicker: we’re doing it because it’s easy.
We have become so used to having things given to us that anything that requires a little effort or awkwardness is something we try to avoid. It is undoubtedly difficult to confront a co-worker about an issue, discuss relationship problems with your partner, or work up the courage to ask someone on a date, but it’s better for us.
Why are people my age are so fascinated with documenting every single thing they do on the Internet? No one cares that you went to Applebee’s last Friday or that Miranda is