Why I’m Scared of Ur Face
Written by Gemma Park, Staff Writer
As a 15–year old girl starting high school, I constantly feel overwhelmed by both the demands of an unfamiliar academic environment and social environment. Having to maintain friendships while also trying to maintain excellence in difficult classes has naturally been a challenge for me. So in order to wind down after getting through a difficult school day, I never fail to scroll through TikTok or Instagram, no matter how self–destructive I know this habit may be. It’s actually quite bizarre how easily I can chat with strangers on the Internet almost every day, while when I’m in a classroom, I shake with nervousness as I raise my hand.
Due to my reluctance to interact with my peers, I have kept myself invisible from the social scene that is the freshmen class. As a result, I have made some general observations on the so-called “popular kids”. Now that I’m nearing the end of my first semester, I’ve noticed that everywhere I look, there is a new couple, and everytime I blink, they are suddenly gone. I constantly hear about more and more short lived relationships being broken up, including ones that I never even knew existed.
Whatever happened to love letters? Sleepovers at your best friend’s house? The beloved ‘60s rom-com moments you only see in Hollywood movies? Passing notes instead of texts during class? These are the questions I often hear people ask (ironically, through the internet). The truth is, as we all know, it’s all because of technology. Back then, people couldn’t text their crush “Wyll?” because they could only find out “what they look like” in person. It seems that it has now become impossible for the average teenager to communicate without the means of Snapchat. It’s normal to use social media and spend time on your phone for more than a couple hours every day, as teenagers do. But it’s also destroying our social skills.
The main reason I rarely see any relationship last longer than a couple weeks is because most of them stem from the Internet and likely never grow out of it. Isn’t it kind of sad if your most magical moments with that special someone are not actually with that person but with a bitmoji? And while you think it would be no different when you spend time together in real life, it actually would be completely different because you can’t hide the fact that you are awkward behind a screen anymore, which is intimidating. Maybe this doesn’t apply to every teenager, but it certainly does to me. I can barely make eye contact with some of my best friends, let alone make serious confrontations with people face to face. This isn’t just because I’m an introvert, though. It’s because I’ve never really expressed my feelings to a physical human being. Why, you may ask? I have grown accustomed to finding solace through the depths of the Internet instead of in the arms of my loved ones whenever I was going through even the most minor of struggles.
It isn’t exactly social media’s direct fault for the failure of so many young teen relationships or my detachment issues, but it definitely is a contributing factor to Gen Z’s lack of in–person social skills. The more we get addicted to it, the more it stunts our emotional maturity and prevents us from genuinely connecting with people face to face as much as we should.
And that is why I uninstalled Discord.