Don't Hold the Phone

It is impossible to go anywhere in public today without seeing someone with a smart phone in their hand. Thumbs fly over keyboards. Eyes dart over screens. Backs and necks are hunched over. And no matter how mundane something is, it's likely that you will see a picture, or a comment about it on the internet.

In church, I’ve heard phones ring, seen kids playing games on them to pass the time. In movie theatres, I’m distracted by the white glow of other people's phones that they just can’t seem to put down for two hours. When I’m at home, lounging in my living room, watching a movie, I can’t help but notice my that my sister hasn’t looked at the T.V. once because she is so preoccupied with the device in her hand.

Society’s obsession with smart phones and social media has become increasingly apparent. When people are distracted by the world on their screens, they become disconnected with the world around them.

I spent a week at Holden Beach, North Carolina over this past summer. Renting a house there next to our family friends has become a tradition. The little island has nothing but a stretch of small family sized houses, candy and ice cream shops, outdoor bars and grills that make you feel like Jimmy Buffett should be sitting in the corner, and a long clean beach with warm waves and a hot sun. In other words, it’s paradise.

One of my favorite parts about vacation is turning off my phone and leaving it in my bag for the whole week. It makes me feel truly present. My sister, however, is always on a different page. She takes her phone everywhere, taking “selfies”, sending snapchats, posting pictures on Facebook and Instagram. You know, just in case no one knew she went to the beach.

There was one night in particular, my birthday, that a storm cleared up and a magnificent sunset broke from the clouds. We, and a few of our friends, went for a walk along the beach. It was one of those moments that consume you, and you know you’ll never forget how beautiful the sky looked and how great it felt to be with some of your favourite people. I look over, and my sister is staring at her phone. She’s not even looking! Sure, she raised it up and snapped a few pictures to post online, but what good is it to show someone else your view when you don’t even see it yourself?

The world is ever-changing. Different people witness and experience different things every day. Life would be much more interesting if a person could see something cool, stop, and take it all in. Make that moment theirs. Really know the moment, so that if its worthy of being talked about, they would be able to make a story out of it. Make it a memory. At the end of the day, a collection of experiences that make a persons life is more valuable than a collection of images on a phone.