By Nikki Headley
You pull into the school parking lot and trudge to the main building. You pull out you phone and begin scrolling down your news feed. You trip on a rock and glance up to realize you are only halfway through the parking lot. You continue to walk when you suddenly see an overly dramatic status update. You stop and begin to read all of it. Suddenly you hear a loud honk. You look up to realize a line of cars are being held up by you standing in the middle of the parking lot.
We spend hours and hours looking at boxes. Those boxes being televisions, computer screens, smartphone screens, and many more electronics. It’s disturbing to see millions of my class mates with their heads buried in their phone. When I try to talk to them about something most people give generic answers to my questions. This proves my point. We are forgetting how to socialize with people in person. People would much rather be behind a screen, protected from the real world. How will my generation be able to work in social settings? How will they do well in interviews? How will they make new friends?
Your life is so much more than a smart phone in your hand. You are missing out on real life while you are scrolling through Twitter. What does reading a Twitter update really do for you? Do you feel personally fulfilled that you just used an hour of your life doing this? You could have done something far more constructive, like working on a paper or cleaning your house.
I will sometimes go out to lunch with some of my friends. Where will their attention will be? It won’t be on me or their other friends. They will be focused on the digital world. Just walk around and watch. You will see people not talking with their heads downs ignoring everyone around them. What is the point of having friends if you are going to do this? You should just eat alone with your phone instead of eating with friends.
In the beginning when smartphones were released they seemed like a real blessing. You can look up movie times, important information, and keep up with your bank account. When did all of these helpful benefits in turn into a curse?
We are being brainwashed. We cannot hold a meaningful conversation without checking our phones. We can’t even walk down the hallway without almost bumping into someone who is also not paying attention. So what do we do? How do stop ourselves from becoming smartphone robots?
The answer to that question is complicated. I suggest you try to stay off of social media for a week if it isn’t part of your job. Try putting your phone away when you’re with friends or family. Give them your full attention. When you are walking to your car or to your next class enjoy the view and say hello to people.
Enjoy your life like you did before you or your parents bought that phone. Show the people in your life how important they really are. Put your phone away and get out there and live.
