This weekend I had an epiphany. I was sitting in a romantic Parisian café at the end of a delicious meal. As my delectable dessert was placed reverently on the table in front of me by the handsome waiter, I found myself reaching for my phone, rather than my spoon. Rather than breaking the glinting caramel layer of the crème brulee, I was tapping my phone to capture its image. Instead of taking a bite, I was taking a Snapchat. What was I doing??? Then, as I looked around the table, I realized all of my friends were doing the same. Four fabulous desserts were sitting sadly untouched as everyone sent photos of them instead.
That’s when I realized: I am living through my iPhone. My phone has become an extension of my body – a vital limb. And, unfortunately, I am not the only case. Think about it: most of us can’t go anywhere with out our phones; we’re constantly checking for updates; we can’t stop browsing; losing our phone is a tragedy on par with losing our pet. In the 21st century, we cannot survive without our phones. They are indispensable and vital for our well being. But then, how did people managed to have a fulfilling life before Smart phones and social media didn’t dictate our every move?
Once upon a time, people didn’t feel pressured to find the perfect angle for a selfie, or waste two hours deciding which filter to use on Instagram, or feel the need to document every second of their life and share it for everyone to see. They managed to live for the moment rather than obsess over immortalizing every moment.
Life is bigger than a 5.5 inch screen, longer than 140 characters, and far more meaningful than stainless steel.
We need to find balance between real life and our digital lives, between taking pictures and taking time to appreciate the moment we’re capturing. What if your phone breaks and you don't have a backup? What happens to all those saved Snapchat and videos? We think we’re saving the memories, but perhaps we’re not even living them.
When we leave this world, we don’t get to carry our phones with us; there's no backup available on ICloud. On that very last breath, what stays with you is everything you lived, the laughs, cries, hugs, sunsets, conversations, the places you visited, the people you met and everyone you loved. Let’s make sure we’ve lived all of these moments and not lost them because we were too busy trying to get them at the best angle.
And it’s not just for us, it’s for the children who are growing up digitally. It makes you wonder what have things come to, if the only way little children spend time outside is staring at their screen playing Pokémon Go, oblivious to the world around them. When I was little, my cousins and I used to play outside, to explore every inch of our backyard; we played and climbed and jumped around in the mud; we got our hands dirty and let our imaginations run wild. I treasure the memory of all of those afternoons. Now, with my little cousins, the only connection I see between them is a virtual one – they just sit together to play on their IPads; there’s no mystery, no discovery; there is no interaction between them and the outside world at all. Kids are now less inclined to use their imagination since everything is visually presented to them on a Tablet or Smartphone.
Do we want our kids to grow up like this? Or should we encourage them to get out, to explore and discover all of the beauty and adventure that our wonderful world has to offer?
Yet how can we expect our children to open their eyes to the world if all they see is us with our eyes locked on our screens?
We need to set an example for generation Smartphone.
Instead of investing time capturing and over-sharing “cool” moments, we should simply experience them in real life and leave our phones in our pockets.
Instead of poking each other on Facebook, let’s take time to get to know a person before calling them friends.
Instead of being self-obsessed, why don’t we show more compassion and empathy for those who are suffering around the world.
Instead of holding up your phone to record an entire concert, let’s just listen to the music and appreciate every melody.
Instead of admiring a person for their number of followers and likes, let’s look up to people who are truly doing something remarkable and meaningful.
Instead of sharing a picture in the hope of it going viral, let’s keep our most precious memories all to ourselves.
So next time somebody hands me an amazing looking dessert, I’m going to make sure that the first thing I grab is my spoon!