In high school we had a rule that once classes started you were not allowed to have your phone out. In fact, it was supposed to be completely off and in your backpack for the entirety of the day. At the time, as a 16-year-old girl, I thought this was the most absurd rule ever. However, now that I am in college and have absolutely no rules regarding technology and cell phones in class, I have seen the wisdom in that high school rule.

We are an attention-driven culture. And what’s worse is that our society facilitates this need. I have noticed more and more that in awkward or unpleasant situations I immediately want to grab my cell phone. I gravitate towards that device because, in a circumstance where I may not be getting attention, the cell phone allows me to feel attended to. As embarrassing as it may be to admit, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and texting make me feel needed.

But that cell phone and those apps aren’t real creatures. They aren’t alive; they don’t breathe.

So why do I feel fulfilled by them?

Because they gratify my desire for attention. When I’m at a party where I don’t know people, walking from class to class on campus, or at dinner with a group of people I’m not familiar with, it is just easier to hide behind the screen of a phone.

Though I kind of recognized this was the case, I didn’t do anything to change the behavior until one of my friends mentioned her frustration with others always being on their phones in group settings. Additionally, she mentioned that being on social media—seeing Snapchats or scrolling through Instagram posts—caused her to feel left out because it was a chance for her to see snapshots into other’s lives, in which she wasn’t included.

This was a reality check for me. I realized I was a culprit. I was definitely guilty of being the girl who walks to class checking Instagram or texting friends. Soon after, I challenged myself to not be that girl. I vowed to walk to class with my phone in my backpack—to always have my head up and my hands free to engage in conversation with friends I see on campus.

I want to be a face-to-face person. I want to be the girl on campus people are comfortable approaching. And I can’t be that girl when I’m too distracted and concerned with what’s going down on my cell phone screen.

Your phone cannot satisfy you; hiding behind technology will not mask you. You may not think you are encompassed in this attention-driven culture. But believe me, to some extent, you are. You can be the most confident, social person in the world, but still get antsy when you don’t have your cellphone on you.

Why?

Because we are a society that wants to be known. If you aren’t being known at that party, or on that walk to class, you feel unnecessary, invaluable, unloved.

But we are not unloved. We have security in something better than anyone’s affirmation. We don’t need the attention of this world because we have the complete attention of The Creator of this world.

The world told me I need constant attention to feel loved and valued. God reminded me that this world is fleeting and my desire for affirmation in this world is self-glorification and not God-honoring.

Restricting myself from cell phone use is a step I am taking to be active about crushing my need for attention. Through this act I am teaching myself discipline and that God is the only One who can truly satisfy me.