Keene State College just named one of the top most Socially Awkward Colleges in US.
In a recent study by the Huffingtonpost, Keene State College along with 45 other colleges were labeled "socially awkward". Apparently not only is the various technology we use daily getting in the way with our social, but also the college we attend. This article discusses how our lack of communication like small talk and fear of social gatherings creates us to be awkward.
I don't agree that this study has strong enough sources to label certain schools as awkward, but I do agree that each generation seems to be losing social skills leading them to come off as awkward.
We live in a world where we don't have to leave our house to go shopping or to send a gift. We have the whole world in our hands with our smart phones, computers and tablets. Although it may be very convenient it comes with a price. Instead of creating relationships through face to face interactions, we do it through the computer. We use sites like Facebook and Craigslist to talk to one another and become "friends". We rely on technology so much that when faced with real life with real people we become awkward and don't always know how to act. When faced with real people we don't have all the time in the world to think of that perfect thing to say, like we do when texting. We also fear rejection and become self-conscious when talking to others which is another reason we use computers. With computers, you avoid the outcomes in a face to face interaction and can escape. It seems we almost hide behind our computers and wouldn't know what to do without them.
On the other hand technology has helped us advance in various areas, but it seems we need to learn moderation. If we don't we lose meaningful relationships and our social skills.
Another thing to consider is emotions. No matter what someone is sending through a email or text, we lose the true emotion behind it. We read into text messaging, give it our meaning based on it's context. To sum it up you can't capture emotions in a text, and it belittles our own feelings that are better expressed in person. We are starting to create relationships with others based on words, from there we give it meaning based on how we feel. With this being the new way to get to know somebody, we lose communication skills. We create a human connection thru a screen hoping its what we want. People often forget though that on the internet your able to be whoever you want to be. Next time your walking down Appian way, take a second and notice how "busy" everyone is on their phones.
Another thing to consider is emotions. No matter what someone is sending through a email or text, we lose the true emotion behind it. We read into text messaging, give it our meaning based on it's context. To sum it up you can't capture emotions in a text, and it belittles our own feelings that are better expressed in person. We are starting to create relationships with others based on words, from there we give it meaning based on how we feel. With this being the new way to get to know somebody, we lose communication skills. We create a human connection thru a screen hoping its what we want. People often forget though that on the internet your able to be whoever you want to be. Next time your walking down Appian way, take a second and notice how "busy" everyone is on their phones.
Do you think our generations and younger generations rely too much on technology??
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