Kaleigh Williams (20) has the most followers of any student at Eaton with 1,766. “She is humble and goes off of what she likes, not what everyone else likes” Charlotte Reynolds (22). It’s 2019, technology is evolving. People rely so much on their phones for news, weather, contact with people, etc. But do people actually connect with others when they’re in person? Across the world people use social media and post activties that they’re doing, but most of the time people are looking for how many likes they can get. Social media and phones have become a distraction from the real world and are not tuned into what is going on around them. Choir class watches a video on social media, telling girls that they are more than just a like or a follow on Instagram. Within this video someone says “an average person touches their phone 2,617 times a day,” time that could be spent with loved ones or friends. “I’m on my phone quite a bit but I usually only use Snapchat or the text messaging app,” says Derek Renfroe (20). When it comes to the kids in school likes, follows, and social media mean everything. “If I don’t get a certain amount of likes I will delete a picture off my Instagram. The average amount of likes I get is 350,” explains Caitlin Frank (19). But to Derek Renfroe he is the opposite, “When I post a picture on Instagram I won’t ever delete it based off the amount of likes it gets,” says Renfroe. To some people social media means a lot. Frank has 1,653 followers on Instagram but as she said, “I got a ton of followers after Dallas passed away.” But on the other hand, Renfroe has 1,399 followers and it doesn’t really phase him. “When I’m on Instagram, sure it’s nice to get another follower but I don’t really care,” he says. When it comes to others the likes and follows do not matter. “When I post a picture I don’t base it off the likes, I post it for people to see,” says Williams. 

As phones are a way to communicate and use as a way to connect with others, people tend to lose personal connections with people because they would rather send them a text or Snapchat.