iExamen 1

iExamen                                                                                                                      Tiaira Walker

            It is safe to say that I am in the middle of the social and reserved spectrum. Through-self observation for the entirety of one day I learned that I spend a lot of time communicating with others, verbally and non-verbally, as well as a lot of time alone. There was such a significant amount of verbal communication. This assignment may have just caught me on a good day where everyone wanted to talk to me, or maybe it was just because I didn’t have on the usual t-shirt and sweatpants.  Completing the iExamen on a stressful weekday was tedious yet beneficial.  I always stop to think and attempt to organize during the day, but obviously not enough. Stepping outside myself and looking in showed me that I don’t spend enough time focused on one thing. I’m sure that this is the typical sentiment of a working college student.

            When I woke up the first thing I did was look at my phone. I didn’t realize I did this till later thinking about it. I think that there is somewhat an obligation I have towards my phone; it is imperative that I see who has tried to contact me in the few hours I have been sleep. I had someone reply to my text message immediately and someone who lagged in replying. It is automatically assumed that the person who didn’t reply fast was either busy or doesn’t feel “obligated” to reply to you in a timely manner. The lack or slowness of communication here is interpreted differently; what the person is not saying can worry you. 
               I think that appearance has a lot to do with the verbal face to face communication that you engage in. I strongly believe that because I was dressed nicely, I was more approachable. If you see someone in sweatpants, the general conception, in a college setting, is that they are tired, which probably means they don’t want to be bothered. This is not entirely true, I wear sweatpants because they are comfortable ans sometimes because that was all I had time to put on that morning. Clothing, hair, and makeup are very influential in whether or not we choose to communicate with someone. I met two new people, had lunch with a group of friends, and walked to class with someone. I can say that rarely happens when I’m not presentable. With electronics, it does not matter. I can talk to someone on the phone and my appearance is not a factor at all. Therefore, this is the same for social networks; you can be anyone you want online as long as you use your words right. 
            While getting ready this morning, my sleepy roommates employed non-verbal communication: head nods signifying hello and nods that meant they were done with the bathroom. Nonverbal communication is easily misinterpreted so context must be used.

            When removed from electronics for an hour, I found myself unconsciously reaching for my phone and actually embracing face to face communication. I usually stay outside on a nice day so my interaction with the natural world was about the same, but it was more enjoyable because I had no distractions. As far as my means of communicating with the “rest of the world,” there was none. I feel that because I am in a college environment, unless I venture out…which I usually do, then there is no communication without electronics. Maybe this is solely how I feel, but without the internet or phone what other means of communicating with the outside world are there without traveling?