Opinion: Do Phones Hurt Face to Face Contact?

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Ethan Edvenson
Cartoonist
            Every day when you come into school, you see people talking with one another in the commons as usual. However, at the same time that they’re talking to one another, they’re also pulling out their phones and texting six other people. Thus the age-old question of do phones hinder social skills? is brought up.
On one side, phones obviously help by connecting people even from a distance. Obviously, I can text anyone at any time if I need to ask them a question or want to talk. In addition, I can text multiple people at once without actually having to meet up with them face to face.
           On the other hand, if I’m talking to someone in person, I would find it rude if they were only half listening to me and looking on their phone the whole time texting someone or doing something else completely off topic. I understand wanting to communicate with other people at certain times, but you can only pay attention to so much of what each has to say if you’re processing multiple conversations at the same time. Plus, face to face is more valuable and genuine than texting because you can’t always determine a person’s tone or actual feelings by reading their words.
                 Basically, phones are good in the right settings. They’re helpful at long distances and for communicating with multiple people separately. However, they should probably be put away to acknowledge the people right in front of you when they’re there and be checked less frequently. The people you’re texting can wait a few minutes to see you respond “OKAY LOL” when others in real life could potentially feel ignored because of it.

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