Today I watched a girl walk through puddles for more than five minutes with cute boots on, more than likely trying to capture that perfect instagram photo for #rainyday. I also watched more than a dozen students take twice as long to get to class on campus due to zig-zagging their way along the sidewalk and then the grass and back because their sole focus was on their cell-phone, heads down, world out.

This in itself is a huge issue, especially when it comes to crossing busy streets, running into people, being present in daily life, and so much more. On our campus we even have spray painted, "Heads Up Phones Down" on the edges of nearly every street on the sidewalks. My own mom couldn't believe this so I took the picture below and showed her.

Now, I understand that my photo in itself contradicts the warning, but I took it to prove a point. A point that we live in the most connected, yet disconnected generation ever. I feel like I'm living in a day and age of zombies. We run into people we know and say, "Hey how are you?" Usually receiving a reply of, "Good" and the other person walking away as the response is being made. That is an extensive conversation today it seems, because usually we don't wait to hear their response.

Our phone is usually the one thing we have with us at all times, not our wallets, not our keys. Our phones lie under or right next to our pillows, not our Bibles. Our sleep patterns are destroyed all because a blue LED screen lights up and so do we. We dictate our worth by the number of notifications on our phones and crumble when our notification screen reads "15:36" and nothing else.

We go on vacations and spend more time taking photos and videos than enjoying and living in the moment. We've become consumed with the perfect selfie angle and ten-second conversations that usually consist of our feet or, "what did I say again?" When it comes to new places, social situations, even the simplest of things, we automatically reach into our pockets and go on our phones. Not for any particular reason nowadays. It's habitual. Thirty seconds of waiting in line? Oh! Gotta go on my phone and see who else liked my last post. Need I say more?

I'm sorry but this is not a generation that I am content in. What ever happened to face to face conversations without the constant distraction of a buzzing phone? What ever happened to phone calls? Not this petty texting, snap-chatting, and whatever form of communication. We seem to be able to hold the greatest conversations through technology but as soon as we are faced with actually speaking, the words never seem to find their way from our mind to our lips.

We act as if our lives end when our battery does, therefore we always keep a charger on hand or make sure we have at least 50% battery life before leaving the house. But what kind of life is this? A life where we're constantly glued to our cell phones and missing out on the world around us isn't a life at all. We have tunnel vision, straight downward, a foot from our faces.

Have you ever thought of taking a break from using your phone? Or does that seem impossible? Even taking a break from just one social media network probably seems daunting, let alone taking a break from your whole phone? But let me tell you something; it's possible. Aren't you tired of your neck hurting? Aren't you tired of always jumping to respond as soon as your phone goes off? When's the last time you just spent time by yourself or even with your friends and family without your phone? When's the last time you were fully present and took in the world around you without the distraction of your significant other: your phone.