All Together, and Yet So Far Apart

As I walked into college this morning, I had this weird sort of moment where I felt like an outsider. Then I realized that I was just being observant.

The hall was full of students. Tables and chairs were occupied. People were sitting together.

Typical morning, right? Yes, sadly. A typical morning indeed.

What was sad about it? You see, all these students were spending time together, and yet they so weren't. You guessed it. Media had successfully separated each person into his or her own little universe.

Yes, this is typical. And no, I'm not going to turn this post into a rant on how we need to turn off our phones and close our laptops and talk to each other. That would be a revolutionary cause not to be undertaken overnight. A radical change would be necessary to make this happen. I don't think it's going to happen. Technology will always change the way that we communicate, but I can't help thinking of the movie Wall-E while considering this happening. If you've seen this, maybe you'll remember that scene where everyone is spending time with each other but they aren't really aware of their surroundings because they are so into their screens. This is maddening to me because it's happening in real life! Okay, I'll stop.

So where was I going with this? Long story short, we're all guilty of this. I've been known to stare into my phone, but I find myself doing this more to fit in than out of a need for entertainment (as I do not own a smartphone). Kind of ironic that I made these observations as I was waiting for my mass media class to start. And yet, how fitting.

To the mass of people in the college hallway/hanging out area from this morning: I thank you for being the inspiration for this blog post.