By Isabel Tabs ’17
The other day I was doing the typical “senior dash” to the parking lot. As I carefully, yet rapidly prompted to cross the road, a car accelerating up to 50 miles per hour attempted to cut me off and I knew for sure he wasn’t putting his foot on the brake. Obviously I made it to the other side, but that’s not the point. Everyday people, including me, struggle to understand people’s motivations and their disrespectful actions.
We live in a culture and society where technology means everything. Heads are mimicking the direction your phones go while you are Snapchatting pictures of strangers participating in strange behaviors. Now I’m not saying I don’t do these things because trust me I’m a Snapchat addict, but this technology has made us more selfish and separate than ever before.
“When students walk into my classroom about 60 percent of them are looking at their phones and 40 percent say hi to me,” math teacher Mrs. Capen said. “It really kills my vibe.”
These students often move from class to class glued to their screens; They don’t want to look up to their peers and have a conversation, instead they are incessantly checking their latest text or Instagram notification. This latest 21st century addiction compelled 80 percent of teens to check their phones hourly and 50 percent of them feel addicted, according to a study done by Common Sense Media.
This digital dependence is forcing our society to be less aware that we all need to have common courtesy for each other. Mutual respect for peers, adults and family members is not only necessary, but it’s expected.
With such a fast paced lifestyle people tend to forget to use their manner and now how to react in social situations.
“What is common courtesy?” freshman Grace Weiss said.
People that have grown up in modern society are technology gurus, but have trouble communicating without the guidance of text messaging.
“Face to face conversation is so meaningful,” said English teacher Mrs. Dunphy. “In my AP classes I find that topics about philosophy are the best things to debate because there’s no right answer and my students don’t feel the need to go to Google to find the answers.”
Good social skills often translate into good relationships. Proven studies done by the American Camp Association show that kids that go to sleepaway camp are able to facilitate and foster relationships better than those who don’t go to camp mainly because they go several weeks without technology. The skills that these kids acquire from going to sleepaway camp include being able to find people with common interests, listen to their bunk mates more carefully and understanding emotions. Although this may seem impossible in our society, this was all done without the access to social media and texting.
In the workforce, more employers prefer to hire English majors versus business majors because they have better communication skills according USA Today. English majors spend a lot of time thinking, reading and talking, which is critical when gaining customers or advertising a product.
“Family dinners now consist of catching up on social media, rather than holding a conversation,” senior Hailey Blum said. “iPhones are just attacking our youth and our manners and gestures suffer from it.”
