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Real or Virtual?
Posted by Girls By Design
April 9, 2010
Categories:  Discussion, Randomness, What's Crackin'
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(Photo by: moriza )

With this new tech-savvy era, us teens are now found in an interesting little pickle that has a lot of people worried. A recent study by Kaiser showed that an average youngin’ like ourselves spend around 7 1/2 hours using some sort of screen, like a computer, cell or T.v. Mind you, this is apart from the fact that we are going to school some other 8-ish hours. Uh, yeah, that’s like…. a butt-load of time (I keep texting during math so I don’t know how to count very well, my bad!).

With so much time spent in front of a screen, it’s no wonder everyone is so worried about our social lives. If we don’t go out to experience life, then how will we know what to do when it hits us? Most of our “socializing” is done through “Social Networks” ($5 bucks says some lightbulbs just went off :P Yeah, didn’t think of it that way did ya?!), like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.

With 7 and a half hrs of your fingers typing away into a digital abyss, is there any time left for actually meeting a person face-to-face? Whatever happened to the telephone?! What should be much easier to just call and say “Let’s meet here at this time”, our new age conversations abandon the “phone” part of the cell phone and instead we text, which goes a lil’ something like this:

“Hey” *wait some time for reply* “Hey” *type then wait more time for a reply* “What’s up?” *wait* “Nothing, much. You?” *wait* “Just Chillin’. Wanna hang out?” *wait*. Actually, to be more precise, exact texting grammar looks more like this: “Yo wazzup?” “nuthin u?” “wana hang out?”

While conversations like these, and chatting online are potentially less awkward than if it were done in person, do you think it’s having bad side effects? Like less time for reality? Or do you think this is all pretty swell and dandy and love the new way of socializing?

How long do you think you’re on the computer a day? Do you talk more with your friends and family in person, or through some sort of virtual communication device?

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Susana/Susy

April 9, 2010

Great post because it’s soooo true. I like the old fashioned way of life I’m such a people person so I like it the old way where I would call someone instead of text (not to say I don’t mind texting) but I like to hear the persons voice & have the face-to-face contact & actually live in reality it’s exciting to me to also meet new people so in that way I would rather call & meet & do all of that instead of text but that’s just me.

I do spend quite a few hours on the computer because I go to college online so I have to & I also love facebook because I have friends & family from all the way in Costa Rica to New York so I need that connection along with talking with them on the phone. & I talk to them through person at least the family/friends that are in Utah I do but the family/friends that are all over I have to talk to them through phone or some other way.

So overall I prefer to talk face to face.

Great post very honest & true.


Jen.

April 10, 2010

Uuuggghhhhh….Guilty.
See, I didn’t have a cell phone till college. Then I resisted the texting thing till just a couple years ago. I was like, “Just PHONE me!” Now, it seems so convenient to text, like emailing but even faster. And you can respond when you have time. So it fits everyone’s schedule. But that’s really lame. We need to make time to chat with our friends and family. I feel like I’m going blind sometimes after so much time in front of the computer working. Which is why I love walking my dog or even going outside and raking and weeding and gardening. Refreshing.


Jenny

April 10, 2010

My parents blocked text messaging on my phone because they want me to communicate more with the world. So I call all my friends and sometimes I feel like texting can be so much easier. I am what you call the “quite kid” in the class. I want to raise my hand in class and participate, but there is some struggle between my fears of public speaking and my anticipation to express myself.


Laurenelle

April 11, 2010

Excellent topic! In high school, I barely used my phone even to call people, and I didn’t get text messaging until college. I’m definitely dependent on my phone now for texting, social networking, and other smartphone capabilities; whether that’s good or bad depends on the scenario (good: keeps me awake in class, bad: I’m playing on my phone in class!).
In most situations, however, the people with whom I communicate by texting or Facebook are the same individuals I see most in person anyway, so technology enhances rather than diminishes those relationships.
If possible, I do prefer meeting with people in person. Technologies like Facebook and Skype are great communication tools, but there’s nothing like seeing someone you love with your own eyes and spending time in each other’s physical presence. So far, even video chats can’t replicate that sort of warmth, in my opinion.


Kendra

April 11, 2010

Ok this is scary and true, there are so many ways to communicate and I think we all gravitate toward what is the least awkward. We are losing human connection, and I think this allows us to objectify each other more and more.

I was working in a coffee shop the other day and there was not ONE person, not ONE who didn’t have a computer in front of them or a phone in their ear, I was like wooooooow, I looked at all the BLANK expressions…it was kind creepy…I slowly closed my computer and quietly backed out of the coffee shop and ran home!. ahahahaha.