Are we becoming more connected but less social?

When was the last time we had a meaningful conversation without looking at our Mobile Phones? In a world where everyone is just a message away, are we becoming more connected but less social? This is something worth pondering about, advanced technologies are bringing us closer to people across the world yet meaningful human interaction seems to be fading.
Never in history have people had so many ways to communicate with each other, so. why do we feel more alone than ever? We have never been this connected, we have never had so many people at our fingertips, while technology has brought us closer in distance, has it brought us closer as people? Aristotle said that man is by nature a social animal, so if human beings are naturally social, why are we increasingly relying on digital communication while face to face interaction seems to be changing? We may have thousands of friends and followers online yet sometimes struggle to have a meaningful conversation with the person sitting next to us.
We see a group of friends sitting together while each person is looking at their own phone, this group of people may be physically together but their attention is somewhere else.
I have experienced the contrast in my own college, St. John college, which is a mobile free zone. At John college students are prohibited from brining their mobile phones during the college hours as a result of which there is more opportunity to talk to one another, spend time with friends and participate in conversations with friends without the constant distraction of a screen. If mobile phones were to be allowed, some of that time will be spent scrolling, texting or checking social media and interacting with people around us. Interestingly, as college students, we often complained about being restricted from bringing mobile phones to college. At that time, we saw it as restriction that is inconvenient and wished we were given the freedom to bring our phones on campus.
However, after graduating and entering university, where mobile phones were allowed, I began to realize the importance of mobile phone restriction on campus.
Looking back, I feel that the absence of mobile phones created a different kind of bonding with my B.A classmates. We spent more time talking, laughing, sharing experiences and simply being present with one another. The bond I shared with my B.A classmates felt different from the bond I shared with my Master’s classmates, where mobile phones were allowed and we often spend more time looking at screens rather than interacting with one another.
This made me realize that sometimes, a restriction that we see as limiting can actually create a space for genuine social interaction.
Perhaps the question is not whether we should stop using technology, but whether we can learn it to use without allowing the mobile phones to replace genuine human interaction. Being connected to someone through a screen is valuable, but so is sitting beside someone, having a conversation and simply being present.
Technology has certainly made communication easier but meaningful relationships still require time, attention and presence. May be the real challenge of our generation is not learning how to connect more, but learning when to put the phone down and simply be with one another.
Paungeule Pame
Assistant Professor
Department of
Sociology
St. John college,
Dimapur