It seems that now-a-days, you can't look any direction without seeing someone glued to their handheld touchscreens. People constantly tapping and typing away, chiseling and perfecting their online-life. It seems almost everyone is abandoning S.S. Reality and jumping headfirst into the cyber-sea. From Snap-Chat to Instagram to Twitter and Facebook, our lives are jam-packed with accounts and apps meant to keep us connected with everyone, all the time. It's becoming more and more clear though, these super-cites are doing more harm than good.
And though people's eyes glazing over as they zone-out can be annoying, it's also very rude. I've had conversations with people who will pick up their phones mid-sentence to answer a text or respond to a friend request. Is it that important? We've forgotten the meaning of quality time. Why even go out with your friends, if you're only going to spend the time on your phone? Wouldn't it be easier just to stay at home? Our digital-obsession is spiraling out of control.
Don't get me wrong though, I completely believe that these pages can help you stay involved in the daily lives of people you care about, but where do we cross the line? How much is too much? When did we let our desire to be in the know take over our lives? Why can't we put the phone down and pick up the conversation.
I digress, we're getting too caught up in the rush. It's like we're running in a rat-race against ourselves, it's something we can't win. It reminds me of the scene in Alice in Wonderland where the Do-Do has all the creatures run a caucus race. Are we the silly creatures running in circles against one-another? What will it take for us to log-out of our cyber-self, and check into reality. When was the last time that you had a meaningful conversation, without checking your phone? It's gotten so extreme that laws have been passed against using phones while driving. That means that it's become such an addiction to be on our phones, that we can't go places outside of our homes without toting around our second lives.
In closing, my point is that we're using social networks as a substitute for real confrontation and contact. We are creating another universe all together, one where there's no genuine transfer form human to human. Put down the phone for just one day and have a conversation instead, I promise it won't hurt.
