Yes, another article about getting the hell off your cell phones, but hear me out. I have had a long and hard battle with not only the struggle of putting my phone down but the unavoidable addiction to social networking that comes with technological advances.

Let me put it simpler: our phones are ruining us. Not only have numerous studies been conducted that prove our phones can influence our mood negatively, but we live in a culture that quite simply cannot go without cellular and Internet interactions. According to the Huffington Post, it’s estimated that the average mobile phone user checks their phone up to 150 times a day. And for people 21 and under, that number is probably much higher.

Recently, TIME released an article unveiling what it’s like to be a middle-school-aged girl in today’s society. From Instagram likes to retweets, today’s young adults and youth are finding some kind of validation in their social networking practices, which is simply not okay.

Not only does this set-up youngsters, females particularly, for a higher risk of anxiety and depression, but it also completely diminishes self-esteem when you’re seeking “likes” and a big fat thumbs up from others for validation.

Thankfully, with practices like mindfulness and apps like Moment, we are slowly but surely addressing the strong romanticism our culture has with their cellular devices. Like I said, I myself have an addiction to my cell phone, and I’ll admit that, yes, sometimes those likes feel nice; it feels good to have others notice you and your seemingly "perfect life." But, what we have to remember is social networking and cell phones give us the ability to put our best life forward. We can train people to think our lives are something completely different from reality. We’re not going to post about our crappy test grades, or our struggle with anxiety, or our fight we just had with our partner. We’re going to make sure everyone sees the best things: our promotion, engagement, anniversary, or a beautiful photo of ourselves or our family. We are unconsciously ensuring other people think our lives are black and white, easy as pie, and one hell of a fairytale.

So I challenge you (and myself) to put down your phone. When you’re at dinner, keep the phone in your pocket on silent. When you’re watching a movie with your loved ones, leave it in the other room. Stop relying on your phone as an alarm clock, go buy an actual alarm clock, and leave your phone out in the kitchen. Not only have some of these actions been proven to improve mood and relationships, but you’ll start actually living your life instead of focusing on validation or approval from others via Instagram likes.

Put your phones down. Life is in the present.