We live in a time that is controlled by technology. Our phones hold everything that we “need.” With our devices, we can search whatever we need to find out. We have a computer in the palm of our hands at all times. We have our social media accounts buzzing when someone makes the smallest virtual move, and we have lost our ability to converse with people while face-to-face because of it.
I am a 21-year old-college student who grew up during the peak of the technologic rise. My first phone was a Motorola Razr. On this phone, I had limited abilities. I could not text people because of the plan I was on, and I could definitely not check my MySpace account on my phone. It was kind of nice, now that I look back on it. My phone had one purpose, and that purpose was communicating with my parents so they knew where I was while at my friends' houses or hanging out around the neighborhood. Other than that, my phone was pretty much “useless.”
As we all know, technology has advanced tremendously. We have the ability to check emails, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. We can take pictures and videos and send them in an instant. We can shop online and purchase a product within minutes. We can even track each other through applications, which I find wildly uncomfortable but useful in so many ways. With the technology we possess, we can also find answers to problems, we can track our health and we can even check things like exercise class schedules, movie times and what we did on this day 10 years ago! Technology is a great thing because of the advances it has given us and the power we hold with its innovations.
With that being said, I want to confess something. I hate my phone. I hate my phone so incredibly much. Actually, let me rephrase that, I hate the addiction that my phone has caused me to have. If I am being honest, I check social media outlets probably 1,000 times a day. Maybe that is an over exaggeration, but I find myself checking these applications constantly. I thought that turning the notifications off would help, but that causes me to check my phone even more! It is pretty disturbing, if you ask me. I have found myself to be more interested in what is happening on Facebook than what is going on in my academic life — which is a problem in itself.
Lately, I have been trying to put my phone away. I have found myself making an attempt to have other people also put their phones away, especially when we are with groups of people. It is hard to do this, and I receive tons of backlash. I will admit, I do not give up my phone while in group settings as much as I encourage others to try — but I do try! Hypocritical, yes, but also progressive, am I right? I suppose it is just a natural instinct to check it every five minutes to see if someone has tried to contact me, although this is something that I want to stop.
I can remember a few times where I have missed special sightings because I was on my phone. For example, I missed seeing many goals in hockey because I was Instagramming a picture of myself at the game rather than watching the game itself. Let's make a resolution, no matter the time of year you read this. Put your f--king phone away. Text messages, social media notifications, etc. can wait, but right now things are happening, and if we miss them, we lost our only opportunity to see them.
