I’m not going to lie -- technology is really cool. All the advances that are being made every day are really spectacular, but sometimes it seems as if people these days are more concerned with having the latest technological gadget than paying attention to the world around them.

With so many new technologies, we’ve become obsessed with having the best phone or tablet rather than having actual experiences. We’ve become collectors of gadgets, rather than collectors of experiences.

Even when we are experiencing something that should be a great experience, our phones are typically glued to our hands. Instead of living in the moment and experiencing concerts, we’re watching them through our phones.

Don’t get me wrong; technology can come in handy and I can’t say that I am not guilty of using my phone when I probably should have been experiencing everything happening around me, but lately I’ve noticed people my age -- and even older -- being glued to their phones when they could have been making memories.

It seems that we would rather have the latest iPhone or Apple Watch than go to an amusement park with friends or go to a fair with our family. I’ve realized lately that the less I use my phone when I go out somewhere with my friends or family, the more I remember it and the more fun I have.

Personally, I’m tired of hiding behind my phone. It feels as if we’re wasting away behind screens these days. Phones these days are rather addicting with their high resolution screens and apps. I mean, you can binge watch your favorite TV show anytime and anyplace you want to. That can come in handy when you’re in a waiting room or just have nothing better to do, but is it really something we need?

We’ve become dependent on technology and we don’t even see it. I don’t know many people who could go an entire day without their phones. It’s almost like the social media and the texting has taken precedence over having actual conversations with the people around us.

I guess a part of that is because on social media we can hide behind our phone screens. We can choose what we want people to see about us, but in person it’s a little harder to do that. We spend so much time deciding what we look like on social media it is almost like we’ve lost the ability to have basic human contact.

We would make a lot more memories if we could put our phones down for a few hours and just experience life. If we could unglue ourselves from our phone screens, we would realize that life is actually pretty great and we’ve been missing out on a lot. In the end, it’s not going to matter who had what phone or who had the best tablet because we won’t actually remember anything about it. We will, however, remember the memories we make with the people around us. Take some time to experience all the things you’ve been missing while you were stuck behind your phone; I promise you won’t regret it.