Definition Essay On Awareness

Having clarity and a firm grasp on a situation is a valuable thing. A way to describe this is through the word awareness. Awareness can mean being aware of one’s surroundings, the context of a situation, how one’s actions affect others, and other things. Definitions of awareness include: “knowing that something exists”, “feeling, experiencing, or noticing something”, and “knowing and understanding a lot about what is happening in the world around you”. The focus of this essay will be the last definition stated. In today’s world, this definition seems to be the one that people should be reminded of. With technology becoming ever more prevalent and the pace of life increasing, awareness of one’s surroundings seems to be less important than what …show more content…
This definition is closer to the meaning of the word that this paper focuses on but it is a very literal meaning of the word. Being aware of one’s surrounding with this definition of the word relates to the five sense of taste, touch, smell, sound, and sight. This meaning is less descriptive but is necessary because without this meaning of the word, the other meanings would not be possible. Without the five senses it would be impossible to be aware of other things that are not in one’s immediate surroundings. In order to be aware of other things, one needs to have awareness in a literal sense so that they can assess the situation. With this sense of awareness, one can understand the more complex idea of the meaning of awareness and can understand, or be aware, of other things that are happening. Some people may argue that this is the only definition of the word and that there are synonyms for the other meaning of awareness that pertains to being aware of actions and reactions to them, or that those definitions fall into the same category as this word. According to Philip Merikle, one definition of awareness is “the ability to make forced-choice decisions above a chance level of performance”. While this may be true, it could prove to be beneficial to have a more specific and less literal definition of the word. It can provoke people to think more about the definition of awareness which could …show more content…
By stating the definition of awareness in this way, it covers all of the necessary parts to the meaning that is trying to be conveyed in the paper. While it is similar to the other definitions, it is a way to state the definition in a context that may not be covered by the others. Being aware of one’s actions, such as texting and driving or looking at a computer screen all day, is necessary when involved in relationships with other people, and everyone is involved in relationships with someone on some level. A person might not be aware of how their constant dedication to a phone screen can impact the other person. It also prevents the person looking at the phone from being able to get a better sense of how that other person is feeling. One cannot be aware of how another is doing when they are not focused on that person. By stating this definition of awareness, it can be a reminder to people as to why they should spend less time in front of screens and more time having face to face interaction with people. It is always more beneficial to talk to someone rather than to text them. It heightens the sense of awareness because the people involved in the interaction need to be present and in the moment in order for the interaction to work. Awareness is being able to recognize that this is a necessary facet to growing as a person and functioning properly in