We’re past the age where technology is fun, or at least that’s my personal opinion on the matter. I’ve scrolled past advertisements of earrings swearing they can track hormone cycles, VR headsets allowing one to “make friends” in the digital universe, and worst of all, I’ve heard countless people discussing the “AI generated relationships” Elon Musk is trying to push to all his fans. People around me agree that this is strange and that people seem to be less intelligent nowadays, specifically the peers I interact with on a daily basis. It’s obvious that their attention spans are non-existent, mine included, but I genuinely find interactions with people my own age more exhausting and minimal than ever before. Is it possible that this technology we’ve only had for a few short years has officially destroyed our young minds? What does that mean for our development and for the generations to come?
To help give some insight into this dilemma, I asked my peers for their GPA and their screen time. Obviously, this in no way would answer the grand question of how technology has affected our minds, but I felt like it was a start in understanding the people around me better.
Peer A is the more silent type of person, yet someone who I find myself having very deep and relevant conversations with. In fact, she seems incapable of small talk, only wanting to discuss very deep topics. Her GPA was 3.75 and her screen time was 6 hours a day. She was embarrassed by it, which makes sense considering it is a quarter of the day and she is a full-time college student. Peer B is the type of student who’s beyond fun and exciting. Her extroverted self reflects the personality of whoever she conversates with, like a mirror. She takes school very seriously, however she, like us all, tends to struggle with concentration on assignments that she doesn’t find so exciting. I rarely hear her discuss studying or stress when related to her assignments. Her average screen time is 4 hours a day and her GPA is 3.94. Peer C was the last person I asked for GPA and screen time. Her GPA is a 2.83 and her screen time is 8 hours and 49 minutes. She is the one I hear least from about studying and focusing on assignments. This is in no way to say she doesn’t participate, but definitely should be considered when wondering why her GPA is low. However, she most definitely cares about her studies. Her case begs the question of what external factors were at play during her first semesters to cause a lower GPA than her friends.
Looking at my peers’ data, it does seem to me that GPA could be affected by screen time, but overall, there are so many other factors to consider. Despite this, I do believe it is imperative in this time of technology that we learn to put our phones down. The companies that desperately try to sell you consuming technology want you to exist only within the digital realm, not on earth with your own two feet. They will not profit off of you reading, getting outside, or having deep conversations like they profit off of digital ragebait and addictive scrolling. It’s just food for thought.
