Wake up. Check phone. Get ready for the day. Check phone again. Eat breakfast while scrolling through Twitter. Walk to class while listening to Spotify. Get out of class and respond to text messages.
This is how the average high school student and college student begins their day.
When did our cell phone become attached to our hand? We weren't born that way. It has never been a problem before because the cell phone was not invented. Our generation was the first to be raised with cell phones and we have struggled to find a balance - I, personally, believe. The world which social media has created has become the world we live in and it consumes our lives.
When we are constantly on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and the other apps, we are not paying attention to the real world around us. Our idea of reality can become twisted and we no longer are able to appreciate the real beauty that surrounds us and the people we come in contact with. We don’t live life to the fullest if we are not able to appreciate the people we are spending time with. By staring at our phones while we enjoy time with others, we are missing out on what every other generation prior to us has had: intentional human interaction without interruption.
We are missing out on living life.
Furthermore, when we are constantly entertaining our minds with our friends’ tweets or Instagram photos, we are not able to sit and think and be alone with ourselves. We are not able to think about our days, our friends, bettering ourselves, praying to God and thanking him for everything that He has blessed us with.
When we constantly fill our minds with pointless “busy work” to entertain ourselves, we miss out on reflection time. We miss out on sitting with ourselves and our thoughts. Being alone with only our thoughts can be scary, but it is crucial to becoming the best person that we possibly can.
So this is what our generation is missing out on. Our phones consume our lives and we cannot appreciate what is right in front of us. We miss out on the people, the moments, the sunsets, the connections, and the time alone with ourselves.
It’s time to stop filling our minds with minuscule things like tweets and snapchats. It’s time to stop, put the phone down for an hour or two and see what the world has to offer. Think about what you want to do in five years. Think about how you can improve the day of your best friend. Think about all that you have been blessed with. Just sit and think, because if you really think about it, when was the last time you did that?
