How close is your phone to you right now? Is it in your pocket, in your hand, maybe you're even reading this article on it. I could be wrong maybe it's in the other room or you don't even know because you don't really care, but for most people (especially my age) this is beginning to be a big problem. We have these amazing pieces of technology at our finger tips and since we can look up almost any piece of information in a matter of seconds we fail to push ourselves to learn sometimes. Technology is starting to take a toll on social skills for many people but mainly in the younger generations. Most people can barely even leave their phones for a certain amount of time, but what's so important? These gadgets have become so integral in our lives it's almost scary.

With my phone in my pocket, I never have to worry that I won't know something, I won't understand someone, or I won't know how to get somewhere. When a question comes up on a worksheet from school that I don't know I have the capability to Google it and I will almost always have the answer in less than a minute, what does that say about my education if I could get an A without trying? I barely even know how to read a map, because my phone will tell me where to go and why should someone make me learn a language if I have google translate in my pocket? (Although I do suggest learning a foreign language). More often than not, though, we don't use our phones to look up answers, but rather to "stay connected" with one and other or do other even less productive things.

There are so many unimportant things that we hold in such high regard that we put them before homework or important daily things. For instance, scrolling through my Instagram feed to see what others are up to, telling my friend that I will see soon exactly what just happened in my class, or replying to Snapchats. Does that count as staying connected? Yes I am talking to people and I know exactly what is going on in my friends' lives, but with all of that being 'connected' it's getting harder to be present, It is harder than it should be to sit down and have a conversation with a friend without being interrupted by people who aren't even there and that's not the phones fault, but the person who cannot help but look and respond. Sometimes you can be talking to someone and they won't even make eye contact with you because they are so engrossed in their phone. This can be offensive and slightly worrisome, because honestly if they can't pay attention to me for 20 minutes how will they be able to do their job as an adult?

Then I think of the social skills of kids who are even younger than me, like my brother who is 5. Sometimes when asked if he wants to have a friend over to play he will say no because he is watching TV and doesn't want to stop, or he doesn't want to go outside because he is playing on his tablet. That's crazy to me, children should be playing and learning to communicate and make friends at this age and they are already sucked into this world of technology. Our dependence on technology is almost scary when we think about it. It almost restricts us from things, people are bound to the walls with chargers, their faces are sucked into the screen, and they need the newest, coolest phone as soon as it's out which costs way more than it should. What are we doing to our society if we are letting small devices pull us apart as they are trying to bring us together.