With a first floor dorm at George Reid North, my roommates and I have a great view of students leaving and returning to their dorm in either George Reid North or South. Our convenient spot on North Campus does not go to waste, because we enjoy to people-watch when our phones are just not enough to entertain us. I sat in my dorm for this assignment, looking out the window at students walking in and out of the residence halls and observing my two roommates as they both relaxed in bed, scrolling through the social media on their iPhones. 

Looking out my window, I first noticed a group of three girls walking together – every single one looking down at whatever was on their phone the entire portion of their walk that I could see. I was not at all surprised to see something like this, because nowadays it is extremely common. I also noticed a guy and girl walking by. The guy was looking down at his phone, while the girl he was walking next to talked to, and even turned her head towards him as she talked. What caught my eye about this interaction was that she was giving her full attention to the conversation at hand while he was most likely half-listening, because it is impossible to give 100% of your attention to two different tasks at once. Watching these two students and the particular manner of their conversation made me realize how often this happens today, and how purely annoying it is. Although I have to admit that I am guilty of looking at something on my phone while talking to someone, it is one of my biggest pet peeves when I am talking to someone who hears not a word I say, because they are staring at their phone. I also noticed that unless we get into long or serious conversations, my roommates and I can have many conversations with each other, and have our eyes on our phone the entire time. 

It is really disappointing to think about, but this behavior shown in children, teenagers, and adults is becoming more and more frequent as the usage of technology increases. I do not think people come close to giving each other their undivided attention in a large amount of interactions they experience each day, and I think most of that can be attributed to the rise in the popularity of technology. Children of younger and younger ages are getting cell phones and joining social media. I find this dangerous towards their development of communication skills, because their lives are centered around using social media in such crucial developmental stages in their lives. This assignment had me reevaluating how I communicate with others and realizing that if people my age and even older have this type of behavior, younger generations are starting what I find a very bad habit at even earlier stages in their lives.