Everybody is affected by technology. But the truth is that technology has greatly inhibited our ability to communicate with people. We do not call. We text. We do not send letters. We e-mail. We do not make friends. We Facebook stalk them.
For some reason, we feel that communication has helped us keep in touch with people and gives us a connection to society. Yet consider this: How many times have you walked around campus texting and missed saying hello to someone because you could not pull your eyes up from your BlackBerry or iPhone? The fact that we allow technology to rule our lives and schedules is sickening.
I am not excluding myself from this phenomenon. I begin to get a bit woozy when I look at my phone and see 20 percent battery remaining with no charger in sight. I mean, what am I going to do without the ability to text, e-mail and Facebook stalk people?
This addiction is slightly ridiculous if you ask me, yet I continue to remain a slave to my technology. I find myself making lame excuses, such as ‘how will my mother get a hold of me from Texas,’ or ‘Facebook helps me find friends from high school.’
So let’s think. How many hours a day are wasted when you should instead be productive because of Facebook, texting, e-mail and Google searches? Procrastination at its best is spent watching TV, searching the web for music, watching the newest funny YouTube video or photo stalking someone on Facebook that you probably don’t know.
Technology has been abused. Now, technology is abusing its users. Technology has allowed even the most outgoing people to hide behind the clicking of a keyboard. Tell me, can anyone go one day without checking their texts? Why not try a week without Facebook? I guarantee you won’t believe the amount of time you’ve been wasting.
Jenny Hamilton is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism and sports administration. She may be contacted at jhamilton@themiamihurricane.com.