2007. That was the year the first iPhone came out. That is a crazy thing to stop an think about. That means most of the kids who will be entering middle school next year will be born having not had an iPhone exist in their world.
I remember the first of my friend's parents to get the iPhone. It was my rich friend's mom, and we were all starstruck by it.
Now, almost 77% of Americans have some type of smartphones (https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/). This is an incredible number, especially considering that many of them are young children. More and more, kids are being handed phone from a younger age.
The results of this I think can be seen in how often, us of the younger generation interacts. You can hardly ever seen people interact without a phone in front of them. Often, they will ignore those around them for it. I was at a restaurant the other day and saw two guys sitting together, not talking, just staring at their own phones.
When we do this, we are depriving ourselves of real, human connection and interaction, and trading it for perceived or artificial interaction.
But when we put down our phones to connect with those around us, we are allowing ourselves to have the potential for a deeper, more genuine relationship.
Now I want to be clear, I am not saying the two following things.
First, this is only a problem for young people. This is by no means a bash on them (I am a young person by most standards). It is simply an observation that this tends to be an issue with people who have grown up with phones in their hands longer than those who are older. But one day all those young people who had a phone from birth will now be the old people, and I worry that the problem of not having real interactions will only increase.
Second, I am not saying that we should throw out our phones ( but I do think about it a lot). Obviously, smartphones are incredibly helpful and often necessary for life and jobs, but I do think we are on the more than needed.
So the next time you are with a friend, or even a stranger, try to put down your phone and focus on them fully. I think the more we do them, the better our relationships will become.
