It’s easy to say that technology has shaped our lives. It’s easier to say that social media has also shaped our lives. Technology is only as influential as we choose to use it. Whenever I’m in a public setting, I look around and see the vast majority of people on their cell phones. Living in Gainesville exposes me to a huge number of millennial-aged students extremely active on their phones. But I’ve also seen adults with their children, in restaurants, glued to their phones. It’s important to take the time to disconnect from not only our electronic devices but also revolving our lives around various social media platforms.
Truthfully, I can’t say I’m not extremely active on social media. I love using Instagram, taking creative photos and thinking of witty captions. I use Facebook for several organizations I’m in, and I find Snapchat very entertaining. What’s important is understanding that social media is influential. I may use it but I’m also capable of taking a step back and realizing that what I do in my personal life should not revolve around whether or not I took a photo to capture it. “Pics or it didn’t happen” is a frightening motto to adhere to. While it may have started as a joke, eventually those kind of phrases become ingrained into our minds. It turns into the belief that an outing or adventure wasn’t successful unless there’s documented proof to go along with it. Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to preserve a moment that we don’t actually experience it.
It’s unrealistic to expect anyone to live without their phone. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s so important to put it down at some point. Sit at the bus stop without scrolling through Twitter mindlessly. Wait to answer the group message until you’ve stopped walking. At times I wonder if we’re missing out on interactions that could happen in passing if we didn’t have phones absorbing all of our attention. Who knows if you could meet the love of your life or your best friend on the bus if you weren’t peering down at a screen? We use our phones to attempt to diffuse tension that these devices have partially created in the first place — the incapability to hold a conversation. Make eye-contact with who you’re talking to, not the phone in your hand.
There is so much out there in the world — try to go forth living a happy medium of documenting special moments but keeping some to yourself as well. Keep moments alive in your heart, not only on a screen. Some of the best memories might have no tangible evidence. And just remember that’s perfectly okay.
Photo credit:www.info.westpac.com.au