Don’t get me wrong, technology is great and it makes so many aspects of our daily lives easier. But the sad truth is I don't think we could get through a typical day without using any of our devices.
And WiFi -- don’t get me started on that one. Our whole world shuts down when we get that notification that says, "no Internet connection."
I am just as bad as you are when it comes to my need for technology, and I’m not suggesting you get rid of all computers and smartphones, because that is not the answer.
How did we get to the point to where we cannot operate without these devices connected to us? How did it get so bad that we can’t even do homework without a computer? Why is it that we automatically assume every place we go to is going to have WiFi, and when they don’t we are highly disappointed?
I spent an entire day with five long-time friends a few days ago. During the day, we had to get work done and went three different places before we finally had to ask a stranger to connect our laptops to the WiFi. After about 10 minutes, all of us had our headphones in and our faces lit by our screens.
This is the scene of so many coffee shops and college campuses. How did we let ourselves move past the point of sitting around talking and enjoying a cup of joe, to the point of hours of silence wrapped up in devices?
All of our lives are stored on laptops and phones, and without them our to-do lists simply cannot be done.
Maybe this is just one more of a hundred articles about something we cannot really do anything about. Or maybe there is something we can do. Maybe we could try a little harder to put down our phones when we don’t actually need them, or maybe we could leave our laptops behind so we aren’t tempted to just surf the web when we don’t have to.
Maybe we could take a break from time to time and unplug our headphones and look up. We could actually order coffee at a coffee shop and sit and catch up with old friends or build new relationships instead of wasting our days completely connected to technology.
