Missing the Moment

Yesterday I attended the UNC vs. State game, and I got to experience our well-deserved victory over the wolf pack.  The atmosphere in the dome was one for the books.  Students were cheering, chanting the familiar lyrics of the alma mater, and proudly waving their blown up posters of Mcadoo's head.  It was by far the best basketball game that I have attended this semester.

As I joined with the others in cheering our team to triumph though, I thought back to Claire's article about her experience at the concert.  I noticed some interesting parallels.  Fans all around me were constantly on their phones, watching the game through the screen of their camera.  With the hype of the crowd, I thought about how much more spirit there could have been if everyone put their phones down the entire game.

I have to admit that I am guilty of "missing the moment" as well.  Not only did I join in with FIVE other of my SnapChat friends in posting a story with a picture of the court and a caption displaying "Beat State," but I continuously checked my twitter newsfeed for hilarious rants from obnoxious state fans. At one point, I even FaceTimed my dad, so that he could see the dome for himself.

Bottom line: Technology has totally changed a student's experience of the game.  Although most of our phone activity was by personal choice, the advertisements on the screens even encouraged the use of our cell phones.  Among the possible phone interactions were participating in a text poll for what action shot you wanted to see at half time and tweeting a picture of yourself with the hashtag "#gotblueunc" to be displayed on the Jumbotron. 

Even if we had gotten so caught up in the game that we forgot about our phones for just a minute, we were quickly reminded by a new poll, or game, or advertisement on the huge screen above our heads. While many believe that technology enhances our experiences, I think that it causes us to not truly live in the moment.  I think that being present in the actual experience is much more important than the awesome tweet that caused you to miss the biggest three-pointer of the game.