Last week I went to a concert for one of my favorite bands. I had the best time with some of the best people in my life. We laughed and we danced and we sang until our throats were raw. I took about 10 photos in total, and I’ve never been happier. I kept it away in my pocket until there was a time when everything was still for a moment, and I had a chance to snap a quick shot without missing a single beat. It was extremely important to me that I experience the concert with my own two eyes rather than trying to experience it all through my iPhone.

Not everyone there felt the same way about that concert as I did. The couple that stood right in front of me both spent the entire time with their phones on video record, and they spent three hours watching through their screen as they checked for a clear shot. They were so concerned about how their recordings were turning out that they did not even appear to have a good time. No dancing, no singing, just a little bit of a head bob here and there. They looked miserable - and what is the point of spending money for a concert where you’re going to be miserable? A mother that stood just down the row from them turned on Facebook Live, streaming the entire concert to her entire friend’s list.

These people watched the entire concert through a small screen. It was like watching life through a television. True reality tv.

But what is the point of living life through a screen? You’re missing the intensity. Everything becomes mechanical and broken and fake. The world is in front of you and it’s grand and bright and loud. Watching life back on a screen later just isn’t the same. The sound will be muddled and grainy. It will be shaky, as if life moved forward with a never-ending earthquake. There is no point. It’s not real life. It’s not beautiful and bright and and clear.

Put away your phones.
Stop living life through an itty bitty little screen.

Your phone won’t last forever - but your memories can, so stop wasting them as though you can turn back time and get them back as soon as you realize they are gone.

Put your phone down. See the world as it was meant to be seen - by your eyes.

Take it all in.

Emojis don’t matter. No one is going to watch that 10 minute long snapchat story you just posted. No one cares what you ate for lunch or which movie you went to see.
You are more than your internet presence. Stop letting that device in your pocket define you. Stop letting it determine who you are and who you are perceived to be.
You are more than a snapshot. You are more than a recorded video you shared with the world.

Enjoy your life and stop worrying about recording it. Your phone isn’t alive, but you are. So start living.