Social networking makes twits of us all
By: Maria Quinilan
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Opinion/Editorial
Well, I didn't come to dinner with my friends to sit on my phone all night," I overheard the middle-aged man saying as he sat at a local dining establishment. "More like a Crackberry. Ha," he murmured under his breath while his friend continued to stare at his phone.
As I walked down the hallway at Webster University, I passed five people. Four of them had no concern other than what was on their phones. One girl, sitting on the floor to my right didn't notice me or the trash can obstacle to my left. I had to politely step over her legs while she kept a steady stare on what must have been the most interesting thing she's ever laid eyes on. Another student walked at the speed of a turtle on Benadryl while trying to perform some task on his phone. I politely had to wait to cut him off until traffic in the other direction subsided.
When I spend an evening with my family and look up from my dinner plate to find every single one of them looking down at their phones, I flip out, telling them they must obviously not care about each other, or me, and that they must care more about what is happening in the virtual world.
People's Facebook friends are now more important than their friends in real life - the ones right there in front of their faces. It seems it is now more important to post the status of what you are doing, or how much fun you are having, on Facebook or Twitter, instead of just doing it.
New technology is affecting our culture and our social skills.
Maybe the saddest example of this was last season at a Cardinals game. I had a seat behind a kid sitting in between each of his parents. The kid was bright-eyed and all smiles about being at the stadium, watching a baseball game. Both parents, throughout most of the game, were glued to their phones.
On top of the social suicide of which we are becoming a part, we also tend to lose all politeness and professionalism when communicating through text messages, e-mails and social media. Sure, when e-mailing your BFF a quick update about what is going on over the weekend, you may want to throw in a smiley face, a LMFAO or a lowercase word at the beginning of each sentence. But, will that practice cause you to forget about proper grammar and everything else you learned in grade school about writing and politeness when you e-mail a potential employer?
As I walked down the hallway at Webster University, I passed five people. Four of them had no concern other than what was on their phones. One girl, sitting on the floor to my right didn't notice me or the trash can obstacle to my left. I had to politely step over her legs while she kept a steady stare on what must have been the most interesting thing she's ever laid eyes on. Another student walked at the speed of a turtle on Benadryl while trying to perform some task on his phone. I politely had to wait to cut him off until traffic in the other direction subsided.
When I spend an evening with my family and look up from my dinner plate to find every single one of them looking down at their phones, I flip out, telling them they must obviously not care about each other, or me, and that they must care more about what is happening in the virtual world.
People's Facebook friends are now more important than their friends in real life - the ones right there in front of their faces. It seems it is now more important to post the status of what you are doing, or how much fun you are having, on Facebook or Twitter, instead of just doing it.
New technology is affecting our culture and our social skills.
Maybe the saddest example of this was last season at a Cardinals game. I had a seat behind a kid sitting in between each of his parents. The kid was bright-eyed and all smiles about being at the stadium, watching a baseball game. Both parents, throughout most of the game, were glued to their phones.
On top of the social suicide of which we are becoming a part, we also tend to lose all politeness and professionalism when communicating through text messages, e-mails and social media. Sure, when e-mailing your BFF a quick update about what is going on over the weekend, you may want to throw in a smiley face, a LMFAO or a lowercase word at the beginning of each sentence. But, will that practice cause you to forget about proper grammar and everything else you learned in grade school about writing and politeness when you e-mail a potential employer?
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
truckey
posted 2/04/10 @ 3:20 PM CST
I think you make a point here, but I don't blame the technology as much as I blame the people who are becoming immune to and uninterested in any social interaction. (Continued…)
freelance writers
posted 2/05/10 @ 3:08 PM CST
There is a proverbal: everything is cure and everything is poison, and only wise limits will save your life. The same with the networks.
Don Corrigan
posted 2/05/10 @ 9:44 PM CST
This is a great topic and the Digital Nation show on PBS recently explored many of the pitfalls and drawbacks of Social Media. The comments on the PBS site about the show are as interesting as the show itself. (Continued…)
Karen
posted 2/06/10 @ 11:45 AM CST
Great editorial. People do spend too much time on social networking sites, myself included.
Another great example is people posting things 15 minutes after they happen on FB, like the birth of their child. (Continued…)
Worlds Hardest Game
posted 3/11/10 @ 2:36 AM CST
Social netorking and social games make us look like fools. I dont know who else thinks that facebook is a sham but i do!
Post a Comment