As most of you know, I am a college student. Every day, I walk around campus, to and from class, to and from meetings, to and from the library... you get the point. In the five years I've been here, I've noticed a certain trend. When I started school, at least half of the students I saw walking across campus would be talking on their cell phones, and another 10-15% were smoking. Only about 10% were listening to mp3 players. Fast forward to five years later, and only about 10% of the students don't have a cell phone, mp3 player or cigarettes in their hands. There have been times that I have seen someone with an iPod bud in one ear, their cell phone in the other, and smoking. People walking together will be talking on their phones to other people. Even I walk with my shades on and tunes in my ears.
Why is this? Why this need to cut ourselves off from our surroundings? I think this is more of a generational thing, especially when my parents asked if I could eat without my cell phone because most young people they see must be talking on it while eating. I wonder what it's all about.
Is it a fear of downtime? We can't walk across campus without multitasking because that would be a waste of time? Is it because we can't go without being entertained?
Personally, I like my own little bubble. I have my music so that no one can talk to me, and I wear my sunglasses so that no one knows if I'm looking at them or not, so that they can't make eye contact with me and try to talk to me.
While discussing one philosopher or another (it's been a while, I can't remember) my professor said, "If you look down at the sidewalk while you walk, then you're a masochist, and you allow other people to make you their object. If you look people in the eyes, then you are a sadist, because you make other people your objects." I do neither, so I asked, "What if you walk and just ignore other people? You deny them their existence?" He paused, and said, "Then you are Satan." Since then, it's been a running joke that I am Satan. I don't mind... in fact, I think it's funny. However, I never really got my answer. What does it mean about me that I neither look at other people and don't really care if they look at me. I stay in my little bubble and don't interact with other people.
Why do we seem to prefer dealing with machines than people? I'd rather go to the ATM than the teller and go to the self-checkout than a cashier. I prefer email to phone calls, and phone calls to in person visits. Why do I feel more comfortable with technology that people? After all, I share more in an online blog than I do with most of my friends.
This isn't to say that I don't like or need human interaction. I'd rather go to the bar with friends than stay at home and chat with them on the computer. I'd rather have a real boyfriend than a virtual one. (I'd also prefer to flirt with a guy in real life than online, though at the moment, we talk more online than on the phone/in person) I just see a trend of people preferring the machines to the people.