Bling! There goes my phone. I squint my eyes at 5:30 in the morning to see what notification I have received. The next 15 minutes are spent checking today's university emails, messages from friends, and the latest breaking news that has splashed all over the Internet. The next 30-45 minutes, that same phone accompanies me during my morning run and all throughout the day. I left my phone at home accidentally recently, and as soon as I felt the empty spot in my purse an hour later, my heart dropped. Sweat poured out of my forehead and I might have very well been described as a fish out of water.
Is it embarrassing or even cliched to say I cannot survive without my phone? And I know today's first world millennials would agree. We all have developed an addiction for a portable, hand-held computer that can link us to ideas and people across the globe...but at what cost?
Every couple of years I visit Nepal and I simply do not carry my phone along. Initially, it used to be for security hassles at the airport, but later, I didn't see any reason to. The two months or so I spend in Nepal are 100% phone-free, and when I return to Monroe, I am surprised to discover that I even exist! So, I ask, why is my iPhone an integral part of my existence in the United States, but not anywhere else?
iPhones and Androids are popular across the globe, but in my experience, people can survive without them outside the U.S. Yes, I said survive; local Nepalis love their phones and social media, but the slow wifi has stopped them from complete addiction.
Here, even a 10-minute maintenance time frustrates all of us, and we waste our data plan because 10 minutes seems just too long to wait. Too long.
I walk around the mall, getting bumped into by others who are too busy texting or Instagramming. Every party I've attended consisted of 80% non-verbal time and 20% face-to-face communication. I observe so many millennials with their elders, with their parents, even with their friends, who'd rather communicate with friends who are away, and not with the very people they currently accompany.
The sad part is, I am sometimes one of these millennials. I am guilty of projecting myself in such an antisocial manner that has become the epitome of being "engaged" in today's American society. Or any society, but from my experience, it is more prevalent in the US.
I have no advice to give, no message to spread. I'm merely another adolescent trying to keep up with the trends, the ways of expressing myself. But, occasionally, I'll put down that phone and look around me. And maybe, just maybe, I'll enjoy a memorable moment with a fruitful conversation.
