First off, I don’t want this to sound preachy and all about rebelling against technology etc as that’s not my message, especially being an uber geek — but have you seen how many people are locked into their phone screens everywhere?
Look up right now, how many people do you see glued to their phones? it’s crazy right? I’ve done this same activity in different situations such as train journeys, at the office and going out for walks — 90% of people are glued to a device.
Now using your phone and assimilating information through it is not a bad thing, actually it’s amazing and they we have technology that makes us connected is awesome. But being constantly connected and in many cases addicted to that little piece of plastic genius in our hands means we are so disconnected from everything else.
We spend so much time running to our phone to look at the latest ping of a notification as we fear that if we don’t look at it right now that we’ll miss out on something, when actually you might be missing out on something more amazing by dropping what your doing and slamming your eyes onto that little screen. How many times have you been engaged in conversation or having dinner with a loved one and you drop out mid conversation to look at your phone because so and so posted something on Twitter that needs your full attention right in that moment — not cool right? we’ve all done it though, I’ve done it too and it’s a dick move.
We should be trying to be present in the moment we are currently in, yes scrolling through social media and answering emails has it’s time and place but that’s not 24/7 and it’s certainly not when you’re spending time with real people in the real world.
You see we all make a sacrifice with being slaves to our phones — we miss out on some amazing stuff happening all around us. But what could be more important than seeing a new post from my favourite influencer I hear you cry? well actually, a lot.
There’s beauty in this world everywhere if you look up to see it — the sun rising, the buzz of a city, the laughter from friends connecting again and with you. Let’s think about the little things you miss out in social situations when your plastered to your phone screen when surrounded by close ones — a smile, laughter, another good time and maybe a defining conversation in all your lives, who knows. But if you’re jumping to every ping and never look up from that screen, it will all pass you by.
What are you trying to tell me?
Be present my friends, that is all, don’t let the beauty of your life go unseen.
Technology is great, phones are awesome and access to all this information is cool. But be smart, manage it, enjoy it of course but keep it in check — don’t let it disconnect you from real life and beautiful moments.
Take your head out of your screen, put down your phone and take a look around — you might be surprised what you see.
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