Put Down The Phone And Start Living

I used to walk around the lake in the small town where I used to live. It was a picturesque hike that took you all the way around a large body of water that fed into the lake.

It was also a popular camping ground. Many city folks came to our little rural town to camp. Day after day, I saw them walking their dogs around the campsite, or relaxing on the park benches overlooking the water.

But nobody seemed to be appreciating much of the beauty of the natural surroundings. No, they were all too busy looking down at their phones!

In the good old days, people used to love breathing the fresh air, watching the children playing, looking for baby lizards on the sunbaked rocks, admiring a newlywed bride dancing on the beach, or marveling at the curious formations of the clouds above. These many beautiful nuances and subtleties in the world around us, are what make life joyful and precious.

Sadly, even seeing people walk their dogs saddens me these days. Everyone appears to be obsessed with their phones only. The dog owners hardly notice their own dogs, never mind anything else around them. They miss out on their dogs’ cute moments of joy and excitement.

Someday, when their dog is no longer around, they might regret missing these precious moments. So many lost opportunities and forfeited memories. Or maybe they will still just be staring at their phone.

Once, I saw a couple at the lake. They were also campers. They were lounging by the water, with their chairs far apart. Of course, this was of no concern to them, because they were both far too busy on their phones to even notice.

I’m sure they were posting pictures they took in front of the lake on social media. By the time they leave, they would have only those photos, but no real experiences or memories of ever being there. They were not at the lake, they were in cyberspace – the cell phone rabbit hole.

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel ~ Steve Furtick

I never once saw them talk to each other. They didn’t even look at each other. I guess the rest of the time they were merely locked into the mundane status updates and drama of other people’s lives. The lives of social media ‘friends’ whom they have never even met.

I have been a dance teacher most of my adult life. I noticed in the 90’s that parents would start talking during their child’s class performance. They were only invited in every couple of months. Before that, parents would sit, watching their children, proudly, clapping for them. For the most part, they were attentive and respectful.

But, in the late 90’s something switched. I would have to stop the music and ask the parents, not the kids, to be quiet because the children could not hear my instructions. Instead of watching their children, whose childhood flashes by in the blink of an eye, they were talking to each other instead of watching their children trying to make them proud.

Then came the smart phones. At first, I just saw a lot of photos and videos being taken of the kids to go and show grandma. But soon parents started switching to engaging with their social media accounts, instead of watching their babies perform.

Some of the kids, who I spent much time getting used to a creative, yet structured environment, would start acting out and became unruly to get their parents’ attention. Others just seemed to have made peace with the fact that mommy and daddy was always looking down at a mobile device, instead of paying attention to them.

The word ‘friend’ has become so utterly void of meaning in a world governed by social media. How can anyone truly claim to have eleven hundred friends? In my book that would involve making time to meet at least three of them every day of the year ~ Alex Morritt

In my experience we have a whole generation of children these days who think it is normal for parents to be on their cell phone, instead of listening to their stories and doting on their every precious move. I see parents on their cell phones with their children at the lake, park and even in stores. A generation of social media orphans.

Social media has been linked to depression, anxiety and studies have shown it triggers the part of the brain that is stimulated by addictive behavior. I have had friends become distracted during phone conversations, because they got busy on their social media.

On the last day of our life, I doubt any of us will regret not having read more gossip or engaging in more drama on social media. But maybe many of us will regret instead not spending more time with our children, our pets and engaging with nature. Sally’s bean casserole recipe or divorce settlement is not more important than living your life and loving your family.

Please. I beg you. Put your phone down and start living. Turn it off and really start living again! The real world is a wonderful, fascinating place, and there are people there waiting for you who really miss you.