Laughter filled the Harrington lounge as I sat there quietly in a booth trying to get ahead of my work before the weekend came. As I sat there, a group of 5 girls had come in and plopped themselves onto the couch and chairs surrounding the television. I thought to myself this was a perfect time to sit back, observe, and complete this assignment.

 The girls came in and immediately 3 of them swarmed the remote glued into the wall to get the show they had wanted on. The other 2 got their seats on the couch and pulled their laptops out of their bag and almost instantly began to type away. All you could hear was this clicking of the computer keys as the other girls whispered and bickered in the background about what channel should be on. The differences between this group of friends was more than what just met the eye. They were all in sweatpants and sweatshirts with their hair in messy buns or low ponytails like they were about to go to sleep, but after observing them you can tell their demeanors varied from girl to girl. 

As I watched, you could see some girls were more interested then others in completing their school work. Some tried to do work while watching, but were constantly checking their phone the minute it binged and I could see them scrolling and scrolling through different social media apps. Although I can’t judge as I was doing the same thing moments before and constantly finding myself doing this, I can’t help but wonder if this is the new norm. Social media has taken up our lives so much that it has become a near impossible task for some people to get their work completed without scrolling. 

Watching these girls opened my eyes up to what I do on a regular basis. I do not want to be consumed by my phone while I am with my friends or when I am trying to complete my homework.

-Katie Fallon