I remember in 2000, my dad bought his first mobile phone. It was the size of a landline and looked like a walkie-talkie. He only used it for emergencies to reach my family or for business calls. Since that day, phones have gone from being an exciting advance in technology to the most important relationship in our lives.

First, I want to observe that there is nothing wrong with the EXISTENCE of smartphones and all of that information at our fingertips, however, humanities obsession with these lifeless objects is getting out of control. At restaurants these days all I see are families with their phones next to their plates of food as if it comes second to sustenance and actual face-to-face communication. In addition to the younger generation, parents are also enamored with their phones. I can always tell something is wrong within a family if everyone is on their phone at the dinner table. There are couples on dates where both are texting and completely ignoring each other. Where is the romance? The thing that disgusts me the most is seeing 3-year-old children with tablets or iPads playing virtual games instead of running around in the grass or drawing with real paper and crayons.

I don’t know if this generation finds these magnificent objects of modern technology to be so appealing that real life seems like the lesser alternative, but that is what I observe. I used to be a culprit of this too, until reading a dystopian novel called "Awaken" where no one leaves his or her homes anymore because human interaction becomes too scary and technology is easier and safer. That is the destination that this innovative boom is heading towards, if people continue to treat their phones as if they are an appendage. I woke up and realized I was sharing the highlights of my life with very few people who matter. I stopped caring what other people think and it set me free.

Social media can exist and be beneficial to a certain point, but that point is NOT where our happiness and lives revolve around publicizing anything slightly fun to every friend on “Snapchat.” I know for a fact that certain things people put on their Snapchat story is to make everyone jealous or to make our lives appear more remarkable than they actually are. It is a filtered image of life; portraying only the parts we see fit to share with people we haven’t spoken to in years or only to say ‘hi’ in passing. 20 years ago, if you were going on a trip to Europe, biking down a mountain, or sailing the ocean, only your close family and friends would know about it. Nowadays, everyone knows what you are doing and there is no sense of privacy.

People should step back for a second and analyze what makes them so happy about getting 100 likes on Instagram, or having all of your Snapchat friends see your party or vacation. It either gives us a false sense of importance, popularity, or just lifts us out of simple boredom. True happiness and fulfillment cannot come from this small inanimate item. Posting our trips on Facebook won’t make them any more real. Just because everyone doesn’t know what we are doing, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Appreciate the tangible and awesome moments of life with your eyes and your soul – not your phone.