Smart phones and internet access have undoubtedly taken the very life out of us as human beings. It's difficult to walk somewhere, or even drive somewhere without seeing the vast majority of people entirely consumed by their cell phone. We think having the latest device or the coolest apps will make our lives more fulfilled when in reality, the exact opposite is happening. In fact, we are losing the ability to enjoy life because we are viewing it through the screen of a cell phone. I believe that our technology is not only making us less intelligent in terms of intellect, but in terms of simple social matters. The first step to solving a problem is admitting there is a problem, and I believe there is.
When is the last time you came out and told someone how you felt about them... In words? It seems like ancient history. Why could you ever speak to someone whilst looking at their face when you could type out what you feel whilst looking at their contact in your phone? Why tell someone you have a problem with them when you could post something on the internet about them that you can battle out without ever having to see each other? Why give someone a compliment in person when you can just comment on their picture when you get around to it? Why truly show and act on your belief system when you could just tweet about it? The answer is that it is easier. You don't have to deal with someone rejecting you face to face, or fighting with someone in person. You don't have to step out of your comfort zone to tell someone you hardly know they look nice when you can casually like their photo. You don't have to deal with the everyday struggles of living up to the values you set yourself to when you can just post on social media how great of a person you are. I think it all boils down to fear. We are afraid of rejection, or confrontation, or looking stupid or being judged for being different so we cushion the landing of "putting ourselves out there" only over the internet or the cell phone. But the issue is we aren't putting OURSELVES out there, we're putting a fake, perfected version of ourselves out there. We have created a split between who we are on the other side of a phone screen, and who we are face to face. We're becoming two distinctly separate people. The ability to sit behind a computer screen or a cell phone screen has turned into the ability to create an entirely new persona. The problem with that is that our made up personality is taking away from the ability to have an actual personality. We don't know how to have a deep conversation with someone in person. We can't comfort our friends without spending 5 minutes deciding what to type out. We can't argue with a friend or significant other without having time to figure out what to say. We can't meet new people without first messaging them on some sort of site and getting to know their internet persona first. We are quickly losing the ability to engage in a simple conversation because we don't have the computer or phone to hide behind, or the element of time to intricately plan out every word to say. I think the other main issue is that we physically cannot be without our devices, which is a problem all in itself.
We are no longer living. We're alive, we have beating hearts and we have the ability to move and think but we don't. We don't want to master the English language because we have autocorrect. We don't feel the need to hang out with friends all the time because we can text them. We don't feel the need to get out and live because we have the world at our fingertips. On Facebook, the bar asks how you're feeling. "Bored" is one of the most common status updates. "Bored" is one of the most common twitter updates. "Bored" is one of the most common instagram captions. Why are we so bored with "the world at our fingertips"? We buy the latest phones and apps to be entertained but we are still so bored that we have to post it for the entire world to see. That is significant evidence that the latest technology doesn't make life better. Sure, it might make it easier in some ways, but in no way does it make it more fulfilling. Why are we so bored? Because we have to sit at home alone to keep updated with social and world media. Why do we have to keep updated with social and world media? Because it keeps us interested. So why are we so bored? Because we have to sit at home alone to keep updated..... You get it. We can't have a real life conversation without checking our phone. We can't listen in class or to a presentation to check our phones. Some of us can't even drive 5 minutes without checking our phones. We define ourselves by the number of followers we have, and we define how well we are doing in life by our online persona's popularity. We're doing it horribly wrong. We're bored because we're too comfortable stalking celebrities on Twitter or taking photos for Instagram likes to get up and go out and live. No matter how boring your life or your town or your surroundings seem, I promise it's more exciting than refreshing your twitter feed 47 times in 5 minutes. We're lacking life experience because we're not willing to go out and create it. In 40 years, people are going to want to hear stories about the crazy nights you had when you were a teenager, not the evening plans of everyone you followed on Twitter. I don't have a solution, but I do know we need to make a change. We need to put our phones down and start living a life as the person we are, not the person we created online.
