by: Nelson Kramer
Editor in Chief
I felt alone for a long time. It was the average day for me in junior year: burnt out beyond belief and feeling more disconnected than ever. I think back and can only blame my AirPods and my iPhone, which played music constantly and showed me endless amounts of content. It was the one day I forgot my “social device” and left my phone at home charging that I realized the thing I was missing was right in front of me. My miserable headspace was a result of my bad habits, and now that I sit here today a year later thinking back on my experience, it is more clear than ever that I was not alone in this struggle. The fabric of our modern world is shaped around all types of isolation. My downward spiral of antisocial behavior went against human nature. The device that was supposed to connect me to the world stood in the way of my happiness.
There are many reasons our generation is the most disconnected humans have ever been, and while social media and mobile devices may not tell the whole story, their role in this disconnection is irrefutable. Mobile devices have changed how we work and collaborate, but the disconnect they create has eroded critical human qualities that help us become fully functioning social beings. Disconnection is spreading at an alarming rate, and its impact is real. According to social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, rates of depression and anxiety in young adults ages 12–17 in the U.S. have nearly doubled from 2010 to 2019. How have we let this generation become the most depressed, the most anxious, and the most suicidal? The problem might be with technology, but the solution is human.
The day I forgot my phone, I walked across campus and caught the eyes of many, some even saying hello and greeting me by name. I felt the power of being seen, face to face. The same feeling is not hard to recreate; it doesn’t take being fearless to make a change, it takes courage. Although it’s not as simple as putting down our addiction and walking away from our devices, we must remember that connecting with our peers face-to-face and getting to know new people is more valuable than any algorithm created to simulate it.
Stepping into connection takes being vulnerable. Turning away from our addictions, our antisocial behavior, our comfortable numbness to the world around us, and facing the fact that living is hard can feel like you are exposed to the elements with no protection. The solution has always been human, it’s the same social behavior that separated us from our insular Neanderthal counterparts 40,000 years ago, it takes being open.
Dr. Van Sloan conducted a study aimed at discovering what factors make some people “well-liked,” with results showing that likability overall comes from being open to liking others. Every person you pass with a phone in their face craves the human connection they are so deprived of, which is a key reason why being open is such a powerful and easy skill to develop.
I won’t pretend that there is a perfect cure for an issue with as much nuance and prevalence as our generation’s tendencies of being disconnected, but oftentimes, it’s the small interactions we allow ourselves to have and letting ourselves be vulnerable to the reality that life is hard that can help us make steps in the right direction.
(Sources: National Institute of Health, The Atlantic, Time)