Cellphones run our lives, did I say run? I meant ruin. Don't deny it, everything we do day-to-day; we have a screen in our face. We are inseparable, thick as thieves, attached at the hip, always together! Everyone uses their phones, from toddlers screaming to play games on them to your grandma attempting to friend you on Facebook. Needless to say we basically walk into traffic because we’re on our phones and then get mad at the driver for almost hitting us and knocking the coffee out of our hands.

As a college student and a millennial, I defiantly use my phone for everything. You can just ask my parents about how many times I’ve gone over our family data limit (It’s every month in case your wondering). Well, Group Me is my app of choice though, between group me’s with friends, classmates and campus involvement groups, I am constantly on group me sending pointless gif’s and meme’s into every strand of conversation.

(Pointless meme)

The way the world works revolving around cell phones, it’s so easy to not be present by looking at your phone and not participating in what’s going on around you. Luckily, my friend group came up with a neat idea called, “Hang up & Hangout”. So it works like this, the mom of our friend group (yes I called you a mom Kayleigh) got upset about people not participating in conversations when we would catch a bite to eat.

Either way she kept getting on to us about being on our phones, so after a while we coined a phrase called “hang up & hangout”. The main purpose of this is to be completely present, with the craziness of college; we don’t all get to see each other every single day so it’s good to be present and active in conversations. Every time we are at a meal you might hear someone say, “hang up and hangout” which is just a nicer way to say stop scrolling through Instagram.

I love this dynamic and am so glad it has taken a hold with my friends and I, with today’s technology centered culture I truly believe it’s important to engage with those around you. You can ask about their day, be present, create memories, laugh and just live. Don’t get so caught up in the twitter game and learn to be witty in more than 140 characters. I highly encourage you to stop checking other peoples snap stories and implement “Hang up & Hangout” in your own lives! You’ll be surprised how easy it is to start this habit with yourself and your friends.