First off, this is not a woe is me post. I am happy and life is good. It truly is. And for the record, I do have friends. I have some of the best friends in the world (if only they'd all come back to Utah already)!
The other night Mike and I were chatting about the cyber-world we live in, and what it will be like for our kids to grow up in a technology-obsessed world. We chatted first about the dangers (literally) of cell phones and wifi and how they haven't been around long enough for us to really know the affects they are having on our brains and bodies and on our childrens' brains and bodies (but I suppose that is another post for another day). After chatting about how cell phones are probably going to give everyone cancer we moved on to discuss how smart-phones are actually making people socially stupid.
I wake up in the morning and the very first thing I do before anything else is check my phone. I check my email first, then Instagram, then Facebook. Usually in the middle of those three apps I see a posts by @bom365 on my insta-feed that reminds me to read my scriptures. Yay! Social media just reminded me to "read" my scriptures for 5 minutes before resuming my mindless Facebook scroll. I don't give myself time to think my own thoughts, or meditate on the day before me. I don't remember to pray, and I usually get irritated that my kids are awake already. I don't get out of bed to kiss my husband goodbye, and I don't make him breakfast or see him off at the door.
But I connected with the world. I checked in with my friends. Oh and I'm be sure to post a picture of my life so everyone can see the exciting life I'm living.
After spending 10-15 minutes on my phone, all while my boys are playing on the floor next to me, I begrudgingly roll out of bed and start the day. I make the bed, help Curtis make his, change Evan's diaper, and we make our way downstairs for breakfast. I make Curtis oatmeal and smash a banana for Evan. I' pull out my phone and turn on LDS primary songs on YouTube. We listen and sing while having breakfast and we have a great time together. I do a load of laundry during breakfast time and make sure the kitchen is clean after the kids eat. After breakfast I turn on PBS kids for Curtis while Evan and I head upstairs to get ready for the day.
Generally we don't have a set schedule. Our days involve me doing house work, updating the budget, organizing different rooms, etc. Evan naps around 10am and Mike gets home after 7pm. Around 12pm Mike and I will usually exchange a text or two, and I'll usually text or receive one from my mom some time during the day. We run errands, go to the bank, grocery shop, occasionally visit the library, visit my mom, and I teach dance on Tuesday and Thursday to a small class of 8-11 year olds. We watch more tv than we should I and don't venture outdoors very much these days.
99.9% of our week is spent at home, inside, away from others. I often go 2-3 days without leaving the house, and I definitely go much longer than that without having anyone outside of our family in our home. All the while I have my phone in my pocket and I check Instagram and Facebook several times a day. I certainly wouldn't want to miss a call or a text from all the people that try to get in touch with me every day. Oh wait. Scratch that.
I have 918 Facebook friends, but I don't have friends. And that is the truth.
Mike and I continued our chat about the "good old days" in high school when there wasn't Facebook, or Instagram, or smart phones. Heck, I didn't even have a cell phone until college. Mike and I called each other on the real phone to talk. We actually hung out with real people, did things together, and talked. Yes, talked! What was that like?!
I am tired of this life; tired of the false sense of social connection. How is it that I have 918 Facebook friends and yet I can go an entire week without one of those friends ever calling me, checking in on me, or wanting to spend time with me? How can I go an entire week without reaching out to my own friends in real interactive and tangible ways? Social media and smart phones make us feel connected, needed, and wanted. They make us feel like we have people who are interested in our lives. We share our lives with the world but still feel alone. We are losing the ability to really socialize. We "socialize" without ever leaving our homes, without making eye contact, and truthfully without really communicating at all.
Smart phones are making us socially stupid. And I've had enough. I don't want my kids growing up in this socially stupid, technology obsessed world. I don't want them seeing me on my phone all day. I don't want them to ever think that my phone life is a priority. I don't want them seeing their family and friends glued to a screen all the time. I don't want them to forego real relationships because social media gives them a false sense of interaction.
So, here's to a year filled with more real relationships, real conversation, and real living.
And my #1 goal for 2014 is to put down my phone and live.
I am tired of this life; tired of the false sense of social connection. How is it that I have 918 Facebook friends and yet I can go an entire week without one of those friends ever calling me, checking in on me, or wanting to spend time with me? How can I go an entire week without reaching out to my own friends in real interactive and tangible ways? Social media and smart phones make us feel connected, needed, and wanted. They make us feel like we have people who are interested in our lives. We share our lives with the world but still feel alone. We are losing the ability to really socialize. We "socialize" without ever leaving our homes, without making eye contact, and truthfully without really communicating at all.
Smart phones are making us socially stupid. And I've had enough. I don't want my kids growing up in this socially stupid, technology obsessed world. I don't want them seeing me on my phone all day. I don't want them to ever think that my phone life is a priority. I don't want them seeing their family and friends glued to a screen all the time. I don't want them to forego real relationships because social media gives them a false sense of interaction.
So, here's to a year filled with more real relationships, real conversation, and real living.
And my #1 goal for 2014 is to put down my phone and live.
