Unfortunately, dependence on our smartphones increases with every passing year. It seems to be spiraling out of control. Cellphones rarely leave a person’s hand. Dizzying numbers of social networking sites consume our daily lives, urging us to compulsively refresh our feeds for fear of missing the latest post, tweet, Instagram, or My Story on Snapchat. People spend countless hours playing the newest game on their phones, until a new app emerges to replace it. Not to mention all the texts, group texts, groupme’s, and emails that send our phones into a constant vibrating, dinging frenzy. It’s utterly exhausting.                

Social media is the biggest evil of them all. People work hard to establish their online presence, and carefully construct the self-image they want immortalized in the cyber sphere. Then, they mistakenly evaluate their worth based on the number of likes and interactions they receive. 

It invokes a culture of voyeurism and the fear of missing out Creeping on others’ social media sites has become a natural, acceptable phenomenon. If we weren’t so concerned with what other people were doing, then we wouldn’t be so worried about missing out on things. Sometimes, people are so preoccupied with trying to capture a moment for the purposes of social media, they forget to just enjoy the present. In this way, social media makes people less social, and less satisfied with their own lives.

This past summer, I worked at a nice, lakeside Italian restaurant that provided me with a plethora of spectacular people watching. But, nothing irked me more than when guests were so engrossed in their phones that they neglected the company they were dining with. If you are on a date and you are buried in your phone, then you need to nip that relationship in the bud, immediately. Is the view of the lake and the conversation at your table really not enough for you? 

As a culture, we need to learn to unplug and unwind, from time to time. Smartphones are incredibly functional and useful devices, and social media offers a unique form of broad networking, but, I think our generation could benefit immensely from making a conscious effort to withdraw from it. In fact, I challenge you to refrain from looking at your phone the next time you are out with your family or friends. 

Unplug. Be present. Enjoy today. Your phone can wait.