Human Interactions in a Global Pandemic
On a usual day during the school semester, I would go to Starbucks and sit there doing my homework listening to the noise of people talking and writing and typing. Once in a while, I will invite a friend to come along to get help on the class assignments or just to have some company. Afterwards, we would decide to grab some food from the dining hall and go back to our dorms to start another day the day after.
Things are a little different now. The only option of getting Starbucks would be ordering either to-go or the drive thru that they provide. I can see people ordering while I wait for my turn, but that is pretty much it. Eating casually out with friends would be something that I would have to dream for nowadays.
I am the type of person that really enjoys spending time with people or even having them around for comfort. Making new friends is one of the biggest things I love when I go out into the public even at a random cafe. A lot of my friends find it odd that I like to meet new people, but I think it’s so interesting to get to know people because no one you meet is ever the same.
In episode one of Stepping into the Self with Stephanie Renée Payne of the Writing Remix Podcast, the part that I really liked and stood out to many students as well was when she mentioned that she would send students to get together and have a meal together. I realized how amazing that would be in creating friendships and breaking the ice between one another. During most of my group experiences in classes, people give each other numbers to text about the projects and stop talking after the assigned project is over. However, eating a meal is a pretty intimate act that friends usually do together creating a stronger bond than group members that you will talk to once and never again.
Majority of the time, teammates are randomly assigned and most of the time with strangers. I feel as if it’s even harder to build a relationship between any of them because all the interactions are online and that lacks the humanity of bonding. Due to the entire semester being taught remote, most of the classmates will change especially when it was a non-major class such as a GE. I am usually more social when I am in a smaller setting such as the amount of people that are usually in the breakout rooms. During class discussions, I tend to miss the timings to say my intakes in the conversation, but in a smaller setting, I feel like I tend to open up more and express more about myself.
I think breakout rooms attempt to use the same concept, but many people tend to turn off their cameras and stay on mute during the entire time. This restricts the discussion to the point it doesn’t exist. Even though some of the participants in the breakout rooms want to keep the discussion going, if people decide to not respond, they really lose hope and realize there’s no point in trying.
Even in the non educational world, meeting new people is pretty much impossible unless you meet through social media or the internet. Even with people that I already have some sort of relationship with, the only way of interaction nowadays would be either calling them or leaving them a message of how they are doing.
Personally, the setup of this class allows students to openly speak of their opinions and be comfortable with expressing their opinions without worrying that people are waiting to judge you for your words. Many of my classes require students to keep their camera on which slightly increases participation in breakout rooms or class discussions. I realized that a lot of them don’t take the classes seriously or not really care about how the other students are doing in class which makes me disappointed, but it seems like the consequences that follow with the remote learning system.
I can only imagine for school days or even other days to be normal again so that people will put in the effort to conversations or discussions. A lot of people do not enjoy small talks, but I personally cannot wait for just small chats here and there with strangers that are passing by and placing a smile on their face.
