Smart Phones, Dumb People

As all of you know, I moved from Utah to North Carolina last week.  I haven't even been here for a full week yet, but my loneliness is apparent to me.  I am not an introvert, so being alone isn't my most favorite thing in the world.  I gain my energy from people, friends, family, conversation.  These are the things that I live for, the things that keep me going.  I had a complete breakdown the other day, and I could tell Jason's thoughts were.... 'uh.... what do I do?' haha it was like a cry fest, guys.  The waterworks were on, and they weren't stopping, no matter how hard I tried!  You know how when you're really emotional, but you're composed, and someone asks you "what's wrong?" or shows the slightest amount of sympathy for you, and you just lose it?  That's exactly how it was.  Even though I'm sure Jason felt a little helpless and confused by my sudden sob attack, he was sweet and comforted me and helped me feel better.  I'm so grateful for a supportive and loving husband! I'm also especially grateful for some of my close friends that have helped me immensely, and they don't even know it.  My dear friends Sarah and Kirsten have helped me a lot as I've been out here, whether it be a phone call or a quick text checking up on me, their support has been so appreciated, and it's little things like that, that make a world of difference.  They are so sweet and caring, and they are so helpful because they've both been here before.  They have both felt this loneliness, and they have been genuinely concerned about me.  Personal connection and authenticity is something that we are beginning to lose as a society, but I'm glad to say that I have friends and family that haven't lost that.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how truly flat social media is when it comes to the deep relationships that I have gained over the years.  I never noticed how much my phone has been hindering my relationships until I came out here. Between Jason being gone all day and me not having a job yet, and not knowing a soul out here in North Carolina, I have spent a lot of time on my phone (and at Target.) Me being on my phone is nothing new to North Carolina, it's been in the works since I even got a cell phone. I've become so reliant on social media to keep me entertained, that I have missed opportunities to get to know someone, to get outside myself, and see the beauty around me, all because I'm too focused on my cell phone.  It's a serious problem that I have failed to recognize, but it's real, and I'm guessing that most of you can relate. 

Remember when you were a little kid, and the first thing you did when you got home from school was rush outside to play with your friends?  When sitting at home was the most boring thing in the world and the question your mom heard about 100 times in the hour that you had nothing to do but watch T.V. was, "I'm bored mom!"  When you and your friends would go on adventures, get into trouble, and the neighbors always called your parents and told them how rotten you were being?  When the only games you could play were Uno, go-fish, and the ones that you made up with your friends?  This is the childhood that I remember.

Remember these guys?  Was your childhood something similar to theirs?  I know that mine was.  These kids are much different from the kids today.  Where did it all change?  It all started with Nintendo, and it has only declined from there.  Technology has over-run everyone, including children.  As I walk through the grocery store, instead of siblings annoying the heck out of their mom and running around the grocery store pretending to shoot guns, I see children sitting on their individual ipads, or even worse, their very own cell phones.  Sure, their mom can get her grocery shopping done much easier with quiet, well behaved children, but where is their childhood?  They are losing it.  They are losing it to games, social media, fake friends.  And what do they do when they get home?  They sit and watch T.V. and play more games.  Year after year I notice the decline in children playing outside, and it breaks my heart!  I remember being a kid and being able to run outside if I had nothing to do, and BAM!  Instant friends and instant fun.  We used our imaginations, we played games, we had social skills.

Now we are seeing more of this:

And less of this.

Adults aren't much better either.  

Instead of talking with one another, we exclude ourselves from people and conversation, and we converse online.  We're constantly looking at our phones, and we fail to see the endless opportunities surrounding us.  We fail to see the beauty in the world.  We fail to make those most important to us, feel important.  Lets turn it around, because in reality, we are both the problem and the solution.

Lets make our lives look more like this:

"We're becoming a generation of idiots: smart phones, and dumb people." I watched this incredible video this week that describes my feelings perfectly, I honestly couldn't have said it better myself.  After watching this video, Jason and I made a pact that we were going to put our phones away, and live in the moment.  I hope that you all take the advice in this video like I have. Our phones are meant to be our servants, not our masters. When you watch this video, I'm sure it will make you want to "look up."