Will Harris
Diagnostic Essay
UNIV 111-006
08/28/14
Growing up I noticed that adults were relatively more socially engaging than their
offspring counterparts. Generations that preceded mine were more inclined to greet a familiar
face and acquaint a new one. They grew up in a world that did not have cell phones and music to
escape the awkward world of the unknown. Now, teenagers are able to seek comfort in their
phone screens rather than deal with making eye contact with the unfamiliar. It is easy to find
oneself in public, surrounded by people, but to be alone because all are connected to another
cyber realm, completely unware of their environment. Spending any extended time on a social
networking site that could otherwise be spent meeting new people is a travesty. Networks cause
people to miss out on gaining once rudimentary social skills to instead become a victim of the
digital escape. It is raising a generation of people who would once be deemed socially
incompatible with the majority of the general public.
Phones and access to social networking allow people to avoid the once defining social
skills that where developed through contact with other people. They miss out on developing
other traits, because they are not as likely to engage with whomever they come across. Character
traits such as charisma and cheer are developed when meeting a person face to face. Today I feel
as though teens are reluctant to say hello or question how another’s day may be going. My dad
tells me he grew up in a town where nearly everyone he came across would greet him. He made
acquaintance with new people because he knew the person he was talking to was happy to talk to
someone new.
Will Harris
Diagnostic Essay
UNIV 111-006
08/28/14
Social Networking sites facilitate the intrinsic desire for people to meet as many knew
people as fast as possible. The only problem is that most everyone they meet, is just a shell, an
entity that they will do little to nothing with. In contrast, a physical meeting causes other social
barriers to be broken down. People must be able to welcome others politely, and use appropriate
body language. These are skills necessary to survive in a world were networking and knowing
the right people is so critical to getting further ahead. I fear that the cyber world robs people of
opportunity to be more accustomed to everyday encounters.
More concerning, is that what was once considered a normal confrontation, is often
labeled as too “awkward” in youth. People my age feel as though they need to have a
background on the individual before they begin to engage with them. This is because we have
been trained to access the readily available information on the closest social site, rather than
actually getting to know them. We skip the difficult and uncomfortable base touch, to instead
make rash prejudgments based on skewed and inflated online profiles. This confines the people
who engage this way to a world of lies and misunderstanding of the very “people” they
“surround” themselves with. And when given the opportunity to meet someone new, many teens
turn a blind eye. It’s hard to resist due to the sheer prevalence and acceptance of phone use in
nearly all informal circumstance.
I understand why we often choose to disregard the unfamiliar face. It doesn’t seem
necessary, like better opportunities will arise. The only problem is that when they do, people
won’t be ready. When the time comes to impress, the hospitable greeting files will be
inaccessible. They were never written. People will realize that the ability comfortably talk to
someone in person cannot be effectively trained in the cyber world. It’s a perpetuating cycle, the
Will Harris
Diagnostic Essay
UNIV 111-006
08/28/14
more awkward one becomes, the more they seek isolation for comfort, further reinforcing their
inability to engage. Their phone offers and escape to and from the very world they long to be a
part of/escape.