Technology and our obsession with it - this is one of the things that bugs me the most in my everyday life. This is probably the most hypocritical thing I have ever posted because I am sat here on a laptop (strike one) with my phone next to me (strike two) and will probably promote this blog post on instagram when I've finished!! (STRIKE THREE!)
I mean - for some people, technology is amazing, it unites families, lovers and friends across the globe and it enables our pixelated horizons to be endless. But, and this is a big but, it also goes a long way to isolate some people. Working as a waitress, I can't tell you how many people come for a meal with good company - yet sit there like statues across the table from each other with eyes only for their phones - and the other half of them are too busy taking selfies and pictures of their food to just breathe and enjoy the experience. (Or realise that they look like complete idiots)
Don't get me wrong, I am guilty of food pictures and admittedly the occasional selfie, but where do we draw the line here? Are you really enjoying your meal or are you more hungry for the satisfaction of getting 89 likes for your burger? (Which might be cold by the time you actually eat it) Are you putting a selfie up to boost other people's confidence and to encourage them to love themselves or are you doing it to put others down and to try and get your exs' attention? Are you really enjoying your life and seeing what is around you or are you spending it at the other end of a phone?
From a purely personal view - I am so glad I had a childhood before the tech-takeover, I spent my days climbing trees and making dens with my cousins, coming home covered in nettle stings and dirt. And the amazing thing is, I preferred that to sitting inside on the playstation and slowly becoming part of the couch. (Although I don't regret a single second I spent completing simpsons hit and run with my sister.)
My point is - are we all becoming zombies? Are we taking each other for granted because we are all only a text message away? Is life becoming too easy and electronic for the younger generation? Will the younger generation feel that they constantly have something to prove? I am actively trying to delete (literally) these negative leeches from my life - I deleted Facebook four years ago (yes, deleted, not deactivated) I have been twitter free for about a year and I exist only on Instagram and of course, here. Undeniably, I am the biggest romantic hippie at heart and if we could all go back to writing letters and post cards to each other and only being able to reach each other by payphone or land line my inner hippie would be at peace - but I know that in the world of today that is almost impossible and yes, impractical.
Despite the impossibilities, I think we can all try to actively be more human - I don't want my own children growing up in a world where your worth is determined by your likes or followers, or where they constantly feel the need to post pictures of ridiculously expensive clothes and belongings that truly have no worth in life whatsoever. I despair at people who do this already - I want to beg you all to leave your phone at home for the day and see the world around you, not this tiny narrow minded world that exists only inside your phone/laptop/ipad - and I promise you that your head will feel clearer. Amazing things can happen through the use of facebook, twitter and instagram etc, but they can also lead to people diving head first into other people's business and relationships, just the smallest thing posted on social media can ruin someone's day or even potentially their life, and this is what baffles me, just delete it - and all that negativity is gone.
But I guess for some people, that's the issue - they love to hate it, they can't live with it and can't live without it, and that is the technology taboo.
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