Walking down the beautiful cobblestone streets of Charleston, I feel the breeze blowing and the sun shining. I am so obsessed that I am drunk in love --making sure I occasionally look up to make sure I do not bump into anyone or get hit by a car. Life is so good. Next thing I know, my phone has flung across the sidewalk, my purse is scattered across the floor, and my knees are scraped up -- not to mention I was absolutely mortified as strangers tried to help me up. This whole time, my head was in my phone and I was not paying attention and I tripped. This made me realize I needed to breakup with my cell phone.
Do not get me wrong, I know breakups are tough. They can make someone a whole new person. But, breaking up with my cell phone was definitely the best break up decision I ever made. Here is why.
Once I realized that I needed to take a break from scrolling through my newsfeed, I got to enjoy everything else that was going on around me. I even started leaving my phone at my house or even in my car.
I also realized that everywhere I went, people had their noses in their phones. People would be sitting at a table in silence scrolling through the phone. People were not be living, they were more preoccupied with what others were doing or where others were.
I also caught myself living through social media. I thought is if I had to update my Snapchat with everything I have been doing. I'm not sure why I felt obligated to do this, mainly because I know majority of the people that watch my Snapchat really do not care what I am doing. It is not like I am Kim Kardashian. I was so caught up with trying to impress people to show off what I was doing that I wouldn't even be able to enjoy what I was doing.
Social media and technology has been pulling us away from reality and keeping us from living in the moment. Social media only captures moments of people's lives and things that they do. It gives an unhealthy perspective on life. You see glimpses of people, and you cannot tell their emotions. You can assume they are happy because of the pictures they posted, but people can hide a lot behind a picture.
Another problem technology brings us is the harm it brings to relationships -- either friendships or your relationship with your significant other. The problem with phones is that you can hide behind them. You can ignore people, you can even end friendships and relationships (shocking I know) via text and hide behind your keyboard. With phones, you expect constant communication, and if you do not respond you are rude. People can misunderstand text and take things the wrong one. Overall phones do not help any of our relationships.
Do not get me wrong, I love my phone a lot. It was a great relationship we had, but just like any other toxic relationship, sometimes you got to let go and realize there are better things going on. Taking a break from my cell phone and taking time to realize what was going on around me was one of the best decisions I ever made. I am on and off with my phone for now, but I will never have a serious commitment to it ever again.
