Monday, June 2, 2014

The Cell Phone Generation


People used to put their "nose in a good book", but now they "superglue their eyeballs to a
good phone." And I'm honestly just as guilty as the next person. I have openly chosen to communicate
with my mobile device over the people right in front of me - real people.
Not the digital or uploaded breed.

I seriously feel programmed. I'll pull up the web browser on my phone to "Google" directions or
something legitimate like that, and I kid you not, "FACEBOOK.COM" is flying outta my finger tips like
they are the only letters my brain remembers, wants, needs...
"What's up, homepage!? Tell me all the things!" So. Stupid.

I look at my kids and KNOW, without a shadow of a doubt, that I would be freaking out if they spent
as much time with their cell phones as I do... as their parent. Makes me check myself.
What's necessary and what is over compulsive?! Yea, about that.

A couple Sundays ago our pastor asked us if we check in with Jesus as often as we check our
cell phones.
Ouch. What's Jesus' username? I'll add Him. Not funny.

Made my heart hurt a little.

Not out of some sort of perverted idea of "Catholic guilt" blah blah blah, but because I STILL
REMEMBER my life without a cell phone. And how much I loved that "disconnected" life.
The disconnected life that allowed me to connect, capture the moment.

I find myself craving it now. I find myself longing to see the internet bars disappear and the battery
drain from "roaming." I find myself "forgetting" my phone and spending time uploading the memories,
the few precious moments we have on earth straight to my heart and not my Instagram feed.


These pictures were taken with my real camera from our Memorial Day weekend getaway -
OFF THE GRID. None of which showed up on social media. We read books, went for walks,
sat in fields of grass, threw rocks into the lake, watched a snake, snuggled, built fire,
played in the sand, ate our meals...

slowly, intentionally, engaging in the beauty of every moment -

enjoying the people given to us.

And I want to be little again.




Let's do it again.

A quiet life. Hidden.
Dull compared to the glow of the digital world, but pleasingly easy on the eyes, heart, mind.

As I sat in the ER with my children last week, a man came by to collect our insurance information.
He asked for the "best number" to reach me at. My cell number of course. He then asked for a
"land line" - a land line?! What's that? I then asked him if he had a home phone anymore.
"We are the cell phone generation! Are you kidding me?" He laughed. I laughed.

Just to be polite.

But I don't want that label. I don't want my kids to have that label.

I will remember how to live my life unplugged. I must.





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10 comments:

  1. I think about this too. I know i'm compulsively checking my phone. My husband and I were out to dinner last night and the couple next to us each were on their phones THE ENTIRE NIGHT. I couldn't believe it...I became very self aware in that moment of how often I'm on it. I don't want my kiddos to remember me with my phone glued to my face.

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    Replies
    1. Ruthie! I've been thinking a lot about you lately... hoping you are feeling way better these days!!! I think we'd be good friends if we lived closer together :-)

      It's SUCH a temptation! To check the phone all the time. I'm trying to just pace myself. Set times to "work" and all - and just let the rest slide. I don't want my kids to remember me with my phone glued to my face either. What a terrible image!!!!

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  2. I just deleted IG from my phone today for this very reason. I need a breather now and then.

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    Replies
    1. INSPIRING! For 3 seconds I thought about doing the same when I saw your post here... breathing is good!

      Delete
  3. Great post! I like my phone and all the amazing smart things it does for me. It's my alarm clock and my calendar and I really like all the fun photo apps. In general I think I have a good balance with it and that it increases my happiness factor a tiny bit. But last week I dropped it in water, and the fix was to put it in a bag of rice for a few days, to absorb the water. It was SO NICE not having it. It brought me more joy to not have it, in ways I didn't anticipate - truly, fewer distractions, and while I love to see filtered photos of friends I knew 5 years ago and their growing families - I haven't seen those people in person in ages. I'm deluded into thinking they are still in my life. When I stepped away from my phone, I was able to realize - they're not! And I should do something about it in the real world, or just focus on the people who are in my life now. So while my phone is now back in working order, I have a whole new perspective. I'm happy to have it powered off, in the bottom of a bag somewhere, for days, until I need to call someone or want to check a few text messages. It doesn't have to be an every day tool - heck, an every-five-minutes tool! :)

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