Put That Phone Away and Experience Newhouse

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the “many” assignments on your desk and feel like you don’t have the time to cope with them, please remember that you have the same number of hours as Beyonce. What can’t she do?

Just like anything worth doing, during your time at Newhouse, remember that there is no substitute for hard work and humility. If you want to get your foot in the door, it might help to get your fingers off your smart phone and engage with people.

It’s important that people like the real you, and don’t just give you likes on Facebook or Instagram. Ultimately, your future is in the hands of humans and not electronic devices. I know we need to communicate with family and friends, but we can still reduce the amount of time we spend on our phones.

Think about this: what is the first thing you do when you wake up? If you’re like me, you check your Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and all of your other social networking sites. Research shows that most smartphone users check their phones in the morning. Over 75 percent of people surveyed by marketing company 11Mark — who asked 1,000 Americans about their bathroom habits — even admitted to using their phones in the bathroom.

Stop giving your phone so much attention. It does not deserve it at all. The worst part is that lecturers seem to be competing with phones for students’ attention. From now on, my phone will stay in the bag when I am in class. It’s too small an item to stand in my pursuit for excellence.

Hopefully, we can reason together and try to avoid the collateral damage. Let’s keep sharing ideas face to face. After all, we are here to learn right? If you run with the wolves, you will learn how to howl. If you fly with the eagles, you will learn how to soar.

Forget about your phone. At Newhouse, you have so many great minds around you. Engage them by all means. Your future may be in their hands too.

-Aaron Mwewa is a graduate student studying public diplomacy