We've all done it.

You see someone walking towards you that you really don't want to see, and you automatically glue your eyes to your phone. You pretend to look like you're doing something important when you're really probably staring at a blank screen or scrolling through Twitter.

Or maybe you're hanging out with friends and there are people that you don't know who tag along. While your friends are busy talking to everyone else, you stand awkwardly in the corner, pretending that you have lots of friends vying for your attention through your cell phone.

Whatever happened to talking to people? Wouldn't it be nice if we lived in a world where everyone said hi to everyone they walk past? Or weren't afraid to talk to new people?

We rely on our phones to keep us busy in situations that make us uncomfortable, but we also use them at times when we are comfortable. How many times have you been having a conversation with a friend and you've stopped talking or listening to answer a text or a snapchat?

It might be rude, yes. But as a generation, we are so used to being able to be on our phones, connected to the world, that to us, it just seems like a normal everyday thing.

We use our phones as crutches because they make us feel safe. They're always there for us, unlike the people who come and go, in and out of our lives.

We can't always rely on our phones though, otherwise face-to-face interactions will fizzle out for good. Soon, relationships will no longer involve regular old dinner dates. Rather, they'll have dates over text.

The dependency that our generation has on technology is both a blessing and a curse. I don't mean to sound hypocritical because I am the same way. I feel lost without my phone, but I know that it's a bad habit.

Strive to be the type of girl that makes eye contact with the people walking towards you on the sidewalks and say hi to them.

Talk to new people, even if it makes you uncomfortable. If they don't reciprocate the conversation, then it's on them, not you.

Make it a goal to put your phone away while hanging out with friends. Cherish the time you are spending with the people you are with in that moment instead of wishing you could be with the people living in your phone.

Using your phone as a crutch isn't a negative habit, but it can be perceived as disrespectful. Further, it can put you at a disadvantage because instead of meeting new people, you are stuck with the same ones as always.