I recently went to a pumpkin patch with some friends. I was hoping to get in the fall spirit and take in all the scents of the crisp air, the warm apple cider, and the freshly made donuts. Instead, I found myself spending more time focusing on how many people were living this experience through their phones.
There were parents taking photographs of their children, even making them take the same picture multiple times to get the most precise, perfect shot. There were teens posting on Snapchat and Instagram stories. They were making their friends and families take numerous photos of them holding up pumpkins.While I’ll admit, I am definitely guilty of posting one too many Snapchat stories, observing all of this really made me question how smartphones are changing our daily lives.
If you’re like me and found yourself wondering how living each day through our phones and social media impact the relationships we make with people and how we perceive different interactions, we something can do about it. Make a conscious effort to think twice before uploading something to social media and ask yourself if it is really worth the time and effort to get that perfect picture. In an era where we genuinely cannot survive without the presence of a cell phone, it’s important to take a step back and ask yourself whether you want to live in the moment or if you want to document that moment and experience it later. You can’t live life filtered through a screen.
Put the smartphones down, be conscious, and live in the moment.