I went out to dinner last night and witnessed something so upsetting and gut-wrenching.
The story begins with a father and his two daughters who were seated at the booth next to me. Both daughters, no more than 12 years old, were furiously tapping away on their own, oversized iPads. Across from them sat their father whose eyes were glued to his cell phone for the entirety of the dinner. The family never spoke to one another. They were engrossed in whatever was going on behind their screens. The daughters were consumed by the games that seemed more important than quality time with their father. The children looked up for a brief period of time to assess the food that was placed in front of them. For the entirety of the dinner, the family ate their meals with the one free hand that was not scrolling on the tablet. No words were changed. No memories were made.
You see, the sad truth about our society is that everyone seems to be caught up in an overly digitized world. People have yet to wake up and realize that the physical world around us is falling apart. We have gotten accustomed to picking out the perfect Emojis instead of telling people how we really feel. We will be the first ones to send passive aggressive text messages instead of talking about or issues because no one likes confrontation. We've spent hours creating lives for ourselves on the internet but we've forgotten about the life we lead on the other side of the screen.
Today's society has become entirely submerged in a world that operates behind phone screens and glowing laptops. We need to wake up and smell the coffee that we've left brewing in the Keurig all day because we're too lazy to get off our couch and unplug the machine.
We are slaves to the technology that separates us from the living. We need to find a way to break free from the chains that we have grown so accustomed to.
Truthfully, I feel sorry for the youth growing up in today's society. They'll never know the joy of running through a bookstore to find a new book to read. They'll never feel the excitement that comes with buying a new box of Crayola Crayons with the built in sharpener behind the box. The only thing that matters today is what kind of iPhone they get for their birthday or what gaming system they want for Christmas.
Society is lacking culture, it is lacking emotion. We are missing out on some of life's greatest moments because we insist on watching them unfold from behind a five-inch screen. The only memories we have are the ones we chose to keep on our photo stream. We've forgotten how to connect with people on a deeper level than a "follow" on Twitter or Instagram. Our lives are not private, yet we refuse to share anything to anyone who asks in person.
It is time we make a change. It is time to shut the laptops and power down the phones. Hide the gaming consoles and give your children a coloring book and take them outside. We must show the youth today the better world we want for them tomorrow. But most importantly, we need to set the example. Put down the phones at the dinner table. Make memories that will last longer than the pictures you post to your Snap Story.
Technology is always changing. Do not let it change you.
