We need to get off technology and talk to each other

Look up, watch out. Some of the phrases that we hear the most have the smallest significance to us. They criticize us and say we are turning into the “silent generation.” They say we don’t know how to communicate, while in fact we are the masters of communication; well if you take social media into account. So why is it our generation receives the most criticism about our lack of abilities to truly understand each other?

Afraid to look up, we hide behind our screens. A simple Instagram ‘like’ or Facebook ‘like’ seems to be nothing to us. It is almost hardwired into our brains when we scroll past a picture, we don’t even think twice about liking our friend’s cousin’s sister’s picture. Our circle of friends have grown to include friends of friends, some whom we have never met and some who we have met just a few times.

So what is it that makes us the generation with so many faults? Is it our inability to have face to face conversations or is it the way we get all uncomfortable when a lull in our conversation persists? Perhaps it is a combination of everything. Too often we use social media as a way to measure our friendships. Increasingly our relationships are becoming more and more transparent. Elders may even say we are becoming cowards. Arguments have turned into paragraphs of text messages, meticulously crafting words into sentences that we would never dare to say in person. We wince at the idea of facial expressions and our idea of face to face interaction is becoming defined by FaceTime.

As much criticism as we receive, millennials are defining a new era. We are the generation no one has seen before. We are working to redefine a nation that will some day operate more efficiently than it ever has before. But I urge you to take a look at ourselves.

This thing we call social media is hardly social at all. We strive for self promotion and act alone in an individualistic world. Words are edited and soon enough your profile is a portfolio of good times, leaving out the times where you aren’t pictured at your best, fearing if you do express these emotions of anxiety or sadness you have become vulnerable.

When you take a step back, we are perplexed by a world of exclusion. As human beings we are drawn to social interaction. So no, I am not saying that social media and the technology that surrounds us is necessarily a bad thing. I am saying that the way we have created new norms for communication is going to eventually hinder the success that we are expected to live up to.

So, the next time you go to glance down at your phone to avoid the awkward hello you might be faced with, take a second and think about it. If we can’t say hello, what can we do? As a generation, we are redefining what it means to take risks. Take that chance and close this communication gap so we can give the world a reason to think about why we are the generation who can change the world.