Podcast: Whatever happened to when a BlackBerry was a fruit

Facebook, Twitter, BBM. All of these forms of communication are a part of our everyday lives now. We use them almost without thinking, and check them obsessively throughout the day. A few years back you were considered out of the loop if you didn’t have a cell phone. Now if you do not have a facebook account, you are considered behind the times.

All of these social networks and communication tools are very useful in keeping in touch and knowing what is going on in the world, but increasingly I feel like I am isolated from people because of these things. Instead of calling my friends I will BBM or chat with them. Instead of going out I just sit around on facebook all day.

There is no doubt that these social networks are important, but are they making us lose touch with the people who we are close to? Even when I am out with friends, everyone is BBMing or talking on the phone. We are out and sitting together, but we are usually not really paying much attention to each other. I do not deny the importance of being able to access information on demand, but there is a price to pay for that also.

Maybe I am overly simplistic and nostalgic of old times but I really miss when me and my friends would sit together and enjoy each other’s company, without having all the technology between us. Not only that, but I feel like my increasing dependency on communicating through technology instead of face to face, has caused me many problems with friends. A lot of times they way I say something is misinterpreted because there is no body language.

Times have obviously changed now that hanging out with friends means sitting with them but chatting with other friends on your phone or laptop. I am not immune to this fad because I myself have a BlackBerry. But I do make a point of not using it when around friends. Sometimes I miss the days when a blackberry was just a fruit.

The end of one chapter...

As my time as an undergraduate at AUC winds down, my life is getting more and more hectic. Friends getting married, graduation stuff to do, exams, and papers for courses are all things that I have on my list. But lately I have taken some time out to think about the past four years and I realized how much I would miss these years.

I remember my first day at college, not knowing anybody having just come from the States, and terrified at the idea of starting all over in a new country. My first memory at AUC was walking into the freshman advising office, and knocking down a little cat figurine and the pencil holder off of my advisors desk. Thankfully my day only started bad, but it ended with me getting to know friends which I will know for the rest of my life.

As I look back I realize I would not change this experience for anything. I have unforgettable memories and friends that stuck by me through all of the messes I seemed to get myself into. Everyone always told me that college years will be the best of my life, and I realize this now that it is winding down to a close.

The late nights studying and the times when I thought that I really could not get done with all of the things that needed to be done seem so far away now. The idea of me finally going out into “the real world” and starting to make a living on my own is starting to scare me! It is hard for me to imagine my life without due dates and exam schedules and sitting in lectures. Now that I am nearly at the end I wish time would slow down, but a part of me is still looking forward to what’s to come.