Written by: Elan Waite

On a typical day at VSU you will see various students listening to music: people who are walking alone, friends who are seated next to each other and strangers on line. Everyone is enjoying their noise in silence.

Almost everyone can agree that music can alter your mood. It can change how you feel about almost anything and can evoke feelings you never knew you had (ask anyone who listens to Adele). The question is, are earphones making us an anti-social generation?

I will admit I have the tendency to want to play my favorite songs in the morning just to start up my day or play something while I’m waiting for the bus. It’s when we allow ourselves to become so consumed with our playlist that we use it as a means to shut other things out that it becomes a problem.

Besides not allowing people to hear anything besides their music, earphones allow listeners to be in their own individual world. As students attending a university we have the opportunity to network and build relationships. The earphone “craze,” if you will, makes students seem more anti-social than ever. We can all make a conscious effort to spark up more conversations. It’s amazing how far a seemingly basic dialogue can put you.

Socializing, especially on a college campus, is essential for every student. It’s not just to make friends now but to also make relationships for later. Though classes and clubs are important and excellent ways to network, an untapped resource is the ten-minute bus ride conversation.

I urge you the next time you are on the bus or walking to class to try to make the trip without your own personal soundtrack. Maybe you’ll make an unexpected friend or just hear something new.

Express your opinions by sending the staff a tweet at @vsuspectator.