I recently had a conversation with my parents that really changed the way I viewed this world. In the past hundred years, we've advanced so much in the technological field. Some things are good advances, like medicine and how certain diseases can be treated. There's more fuel efficient cars and cars that are better for the environment. There are definitely good advances that have been made, but there all so many bad ones that came with it.

I was discussing with my parents what movie we would watch that night because it always takes us an hour (if that) to pick one out. They told me about how every Friday night they would run to the video store and go pick out a movie together. They said there was always a new releases section and it was so exciting to walk through those doors and see a new movie that you could take home for a night. And if the movie was out, you'd hang around the store and wait eagerly to see if somebody would be bringing it back.

This sounded like so much fun. Movie stores were still around when I was younger but they phased out by the time I was 6 or 7 years old. HBO came along and threw them out on the curb. You now had movies right at the tip of your fingers (literally). There was no excitement anymore. You didn't get to run to the movie store with your dad and have to fight with your sibling over which one you wanted. There were so many to choose from!!! The stores were huge and they had so many sections with movie after movie. You couldn't wait to get home and pop it in the VCR. That's right, VCR, not DVD player.

A small story my parents talked about at the dinner table made me rethink everything. This world is obsessed with instant gratification. Everything is instant; our movies, our conversations, our coffee, our food, our lives. There is no pleasure in doing anything anymore. People are lazy. I'm lazy, you're lazy, everybody is lazy. We want everything as soon as we possibly can. Waiting four seconds for a video to load loses our interest and we scroll down to the next. It becomes irrelevant because we didn't get it right when we wanted it. Our attentions spans are so beyond short that it's actually embarrassing. We can't wait for anything. What happened to "it's not about the destination, but about the journey?" Well, there's no journey anymore, I can tell you that.

The reason why I'm so upset about this is because nobody takes the time to enjoy things anymore. We're so wrapped up in social media and everybody else's lives that we don't even focus on our own.

Here are some things to make you rethink the next time you mindlessly scroll through Facebook while watching TV, and texting your friends.

1. You aren't doing anything.

You may think you're doing something but you are not. You're not moving so you can count out exercising. Everything you see on Facebook will not directly impact you and you will most definitely forget about it within the hour. Watching television is a mindless activity that doesn't require you to do anything but stare at a screen. Don't get me wrong, I love watching Netflix and doing nothing but it doesn't mean it's the best thing for you to do. Texting is also pointless. Do you actually remember texting conversations between you and other people? The answer is you probably don't. I know I don't remember them. I've texted my boyfriend every day for over a year a half and I couldn't tell you more than 10% of the conversations we've had.

Texting is frivolous. You don't have important conversations through the phone. There's no body language, no facial expressions, you can't hear their voice or know if they are crying or laughing. You might not even know where they are (unless you have found a friend). Regardless to that, it's just another mindless thing to do. It may seem entertaining at the time but you won't remember it. You'll never look back and say "gee, I really loved that time on Dec. 7, 2014 when I sat on my couch and scrolled through Instagram for four hours."

2. Why do we have to make ourselves so available?

If your Facebook is open, anybody can message you, post on your wall, comment on a picture, poke you, invite you to play a game, invite you to an event, like your pictures, like your shared videos, your status. You will know that they are either looking at your life or trying to get ahold of you, instantly. If you have your phone, somebody can text you, call you, FaceTime you, FaceTime audio you, tweet at you, DM you, Instagram DM you, Snapchat you, put you in their story "@(insert name here)," they can email you, Instagram a picture of you, share a picture or video and tag your name to it.

There are SO many ways for somebody to contact you. And when they do, you will answer immediately because why wouldn't you? Driving a car? So what? At the grocery store? Why not? Eating dinner with your grandparents? Why the hell not? Everybody knows where we are 24/7 because we let them. They can reach you whenever and however because we choose to let this happen. If somebody doesn't answer your text or phone call now, we automatically assume one of two things, either they hate us, or they died.

Nobody is in the shower because we have waterproof phone cases, nobody is driving because we have Bluetooth, nobody is with their family because that time isn't special anymore.

When you used to call somebody's house phone and they didn't answer, they were busy. So instead of freaking the f*ck out, we left a message, like normal civilized beings, "Hey it's so-and-so, call me back when you get a chance, thanks!" And you know what they did? They called you back. Maybe it was five minutes from then or maybe it was the next day, but the point is is that nobody got so butt-hurt about not being able to talk to somebody right away. It was just casual. That person would get the message whenever they did and that was that.

3. We always need to be connected.

Just a few weeks ago, I had to go to the Apple store to get the screen fixed on my phone. I went by myself and sat around the store for about half an hour waiting for somebody to help me. Finally, they took my phone to get fixed. They told me it would be about an hour and a half. So I had to kill an hour and a half at the mall, by myself, without a cell phone. I stepped out of the store and got a little bit anxious. I had no way for anybody to contact me and honestly it was scary. My mom couldn't call me, I couldn't text my boyfriend, I didn't even know the time. After a few minutes, I got caught up in the all the clothes and just did my thing. I went through almost every store just because I could. I don't shop at the Banana Republic but why not check it out. I went to all the tea stores and got free samples and just walked around, free as a bird.

After about an hour or so, I went to Annie's to get a pretzel. Because I didn't have my phone I had to ask the lady at the counter what the time was. I've never been looked at weirder in my life.

Once I got my phone back, I put it in my purse and drove home without even looking at it. I was so used to being without it that I forgot I even got it back. It's a great feeling to be without it. Nobody can bother you and you can really focus on you and what you're doing. I could have sat on a bench on the mall for an hour and a half on my phone but I didn't, not just because I didn't have the choice but because why not take advantage of what you have. I walked through Pottery Barn and William's Sanoma like the proud housewife I am not. People gave me funny looks, but who cares. They're my favorite stores and I had nothing else to do.

Being connected doesn't always mean the same thing. I was at the mall so I went to the mall and I did what you do at the mall. Connect with what you are doing and what is around you. Things happening in your phone are not relevant to you so why bother with them? Live what you are doing, don't just be there.

These are just a few examples of things that are changing our world and how we interact with others and everything around us. Pick up a book next time instead of opening your laptop, go visit a friend instead of texting them and put your phone away whenever you're doing something. It truly makes the experience a lot more enjoyable and memorable. Be involved with what you are doing, physically and mentally. I promise you won't regret it.

Just something to think about.