Alarm goes off, wake up. Check your phone. Get ready for the day, get breakfast. Check your phone while eating breakfast. Go to class, go to lunch. Check your phone. Go to work. Check your computer. Go to dinner. Check your phone. Go to bed. Check your phone. Wake up and do it all again tomorrow.
This is the routine of a lot of Americans at this time. Whatever it is that they are doing, they always have to check their phone when they wake up, go to bed, eat, and all of the time. People these days cannot sit without distraction. They cannot just have conversations with friends, ask each other about their days, or even just sit quietly while relaxing. There does not have to be constant entertainment in our lives that is preventing us from seeing the world around us. By looking at a screen all day long, you will not see what is right in front of you. You will miss so much in life if technology is vitally important for you.
youtube.com
I am not saying that technology is bad. Technology is a very helpful thing, and it should just be used correctly. It is an amazing thing that I don’t think our current world could live without. But I do think we need to coexist with it, and not depend on it, especially in social situations.
Technology should never be used in social situations. I think it should be a social rule that you cannot be on your phone in social interactions. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people are on their phone at the dinner table. I hate when I go to a restaurant with my friends and everyone is on their phone. The worst part is that they do not understand why it bothers me so much. It has become such a large social norm that people don’t even think twice about it. The use of social media stems from the American society and from how children are raised.
independent.ie
I think that one of the worst things a parent can do for their kid at a restaurant is to give them an iPhone or iPad so that they don’t have to entertain them. This is teaching kids at a young age to depend on technology. If your parents would rather you look at a screen than talk to them, they are the ones corrupting you, and this is where the zombie is born.
The use of social media and technology leads to a deluge of information on any given day. It also leads to the jam-packed schedules of Americans. The American society does not allow for time to be quiet and still. People run to and from different people and places. There is never a moment to sit and reflect. Your mind cannot take in everything that happens in a given day. It needs time to process what is taking place through meditation, or maybe journaling. The act of processing, reviewing, and reflecting is how memories are copied and stored in your brain. So next time, instead of just running to the next event, we need to take at least five minutes to understand what is happening around us so that we can appreciate the events that take place in our lives. Don’t worry, because there are worse things in life than being late or skipping one of your many social engagements.
hercampus.com
It is also important that we focus on the “here and now,” and stop thinking about the future. How is thinking about your plans next week going to help you with your current task? It’s not. The only way to appreciate the situation that you are currently in is to give all of your attention to what is happening. If we forget to do this, we will forget to live our lives. There is always going to be something else to focus on, so it is a difficult task to focus on the reality.
Just for a moment focus on now. Forget about your plans and dreams. Forget about your goals. Forget about what you think about others and what others think of you. Some of these things are important in your life, and some are not, but all of them need to be cleared from our minds once in a while in order for us to stay aware and conscious, in the right state of mind. A lot of importance is placed on an ideal image in the American culture. Who has the best job, the most money, the best grades, the best look, goes to the best school, has the coolest friends, and many other things that build up the “perfect image.” All of these things distract us from what is important and what actually matters in our lives. Instead of thinking about what’s happening in our lives currently, we are stuck thinking about how this will affect our life plans and goals we have made to live up to this image.
The actual important things in our lives are the ones that are hidden in plain sight. The little things. We need to appreciate the people around us, those who are always there for us and do not ask anything in return. We need to stop to see what these people are doing for us, and then we need to thank them, not just take them for granted. We need to appreciate the world around us, whether it is part of nature or a manmade thing. We need to see the flowers on our walk to class, or stop for a relaxing coffee on the way to work. We need to take a break from our routine in order to see what it is that we are mindlessly passing every day. We need to allow our minds to focus on something so that it doesn’t wander to what is happening in your everyday life, giving your mind a much needed break. We need to appreciate life and all of its highs and lows, no matter what they are, because if you are numb to life, you are not present in it. If you are not living life and understanding the ups and downs of it, then what are you doing?
