SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
There's a thing out there called "technology", a magnificent invention often used for more than is necessary. From communication to blogging to selfie-taking, technology has been around for centuries and has not-so-recently become a huge advantage in the everyday life of the average American, but there are many things (Twitter, for example) that are less than necessary for human survival.
Technology is a vast entity that, in the case of the steam engine, began in the 1700s. Things such as television and vacuum cleaners really started getting popular in the early 20s, and the very first portable music player was introduced in the early 50s. I really don't need to explain how far we've come from this:
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| photo source: www.retrothing.com |
to this:
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| photo source: arstechnica.com |
Technology isn't limited to portable radios though; we have telephones, printers, computers, televisions, cars, planes, trains - really, we have it all and then some.
America is a thriving country; it always has been, and I believe it always will be, but we as Americans, from birth to death, often think that we are entitled to a certain amount and we forget that there is a thing called chivalry and I daresay it is not dead just yet.
Literally every time I have a meet-up with my friends or go to an extracurricular activity of some sort, there will always (and I mean ALWAYS) be a group of teenagers tapping away on the keys of their iPhone 5. I have watched as some of my closest friends have slowly started to fade away from me, and on the other hand I have grown closer to the people that I once never spoke to, all thanks to technology.
Since the popularity of the cell phone has grown more and more, you will likely not walk into a room of thirty people between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four and find a single person who doesn't own either a Galaxy or an iPhone. Be honest, have you ever gone to a school or church function where NO ONE has has pulled out their phone for more than either making a call or answering one? Probably not.
The first time I ever experienced the I'm-hanging-out-with-you-but-actually-I'm-texting-someone-else logic was when my one and only best friend Emily got her first cell phone. I was eleven then, and that was also the year that I discovered Facebook. Since my parents wouldn't allow me to get my own account until I was thirteen, I ransacked my mom's account. At such a young age, I was already experiencing the drama of the Interwebs. *cue melancholy violin tune*
Honestly, I cannot count the number of times that I've hung out with a friend and ended up spending 30% of that time sitting quietly, scrolling on the Insta, paying no attention to the person sitting directly in front of me. Last summer, my cousin from Mississippi came and stayed for two weeks; we spent over half that time on our iPods doing nothing productive, and speaking nothing to one another.
I blame none of this on technology; it doesn't matter how much it advances, it's all about what we do with it. If you spend all your time focused on what's trending on Twitter, you probably won't get as far in life than if you were to spend your time studying, as you should. Obviously, Twitter's much more entertaining but my point still stands.
So the next time you hang out with your friends, try (REALLY try) not to pull out your phone unless it's absolutely necessary. [Hint: Facebook is not absolutely necessary]
"Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul." -Thomas Merton
~JK