by VANESSA DELGADO//Staff Writer
With all the convenience that technology provides, it also portrays a false sense of community.
From a business perspective, it has opened a new door. It is faster and easier than ever to reach a company’s consumers. It is more convenient for consumers to shop and review businesses. Customers can now buy products from almost anywhere. Cell phones provide speedy internet access on the go. While you’re waiting in line at the grocery store, you could easily go on a shopping spree for items in other countries and receive them the same week.
But, technology may be all too convenient. Children are no longer playing outside for hours at a time and asking mom for “five more minutes.” Mothers no longer yell that “dinner is ready!” Instead, with the quick download of an app and several clicks later, dinner is ordered.
Over the noise of their video games, the children hear the knock of the pizza delivery boy, bringing them their cheesy meal. Parents now work long hours and have busy nights. The benefit of technology is alluring to exhausted mothers and fathers.
Another popular trend among our current generation is social media. With family and friends only a click away, it can make anyone feel that they can replace face-to-face communication. Even if someone has 1,000 friends on Facebook, he or she can still feel isolated from the world.
Our communication lacks emotion and empathy when ineracting through technology. It can also be interpreted in a different way than the writer intended. When people communicate through technology, it can hinder their speaking skills and make a face-to-face encounter even seem awkward.
Most jobs require people to interact with face-to-face communication frequently. When in a job interview, the interviewee can no longer hide behind a device. Eye contact is crucial and may be a foreign concept to those who talk to people in person infrequently.
Today’s younger generation now stays inside, focusing on a small screen more often than they are performing an actual activity outside. I remember that when I was younger, the best part of the day was those couple of hours I could play outside before dinner. Nowadays, it is a struggle just to get kids off of their video games and go outside for 30 minutes.
Spending quality time with people is essential to everyone’s well being. It helps to strengthen relationships between family and friends. Liking someone’s Facebook status might provide a short moment of instant gratification, but it does not produce life-long friendships. The stuff that true bonds are made of is experiences and memories that still make you laugh until you cry years later.
Everyone needs to put down his or her devices and experience the world. There are many adventures waiting to be taken. All you need is initiative to go and do them.
The world survived before without technology. There’s no reason that we need to solely rely on it now. The world is your playground. Go and have fun.
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