Disconnect.
I was prompted to write this post
(Yay, someone actually reads this blog so regularly they wanted to hear my opinions on something specific!)
The topic?
The smartphone.
We'll be clear, I love my little smartphone. I'm a huge fan of being able to watch Netflix, play solitaire, send a text, listen to Pandora, and check my social media. It's lightweight, reliable, and just generally pretty awesome.
But I have moments where I would literally like to slap the phone out of people's hands.
I've been getting so irritated lately. I can be having dinner with someone, at a group outing, at a party, even having a phone conversation, and suddenly I'm repeating myself. Why? Because a Facebook notification came up and had to be checked instantly. Because, blatantly, I've been told that I am less important than a piece of technology.
Let's be very transparent for a moment.
I do not repeat myself.
I grew up with a deaf parent.
I learned to speak clearly and slowly so she could read my lips, and frequently had to say the same thing repeatedly for her to understand it. I still do.
I do it for my mom because she hasn't been able to learn sign language and I need to be able to communicate with her. I do it because she really and truly wants to know what I'm saying and sometimes she just can't catch it. I do it because I see that she would give anything to be able to have an effortless conversation again.
So, to me, it is unbelievably rude to make me reiterate what I just verbalized because you were too distracted. It's insulting to watch someone take advantage of the fact that they are lucky enough to have their hearing and can have an easy conversation.
Whoever "liked" your selfie will still show that they "liked" it in an hour.
Your newsfeed will show you the same news in the morning as it will right this second if you scroll down far enough.
And if someone is announcing their big news to you on Facebook and not calling, texting, or better yet talking to you in person to announce it, then you're really not too good of a friend to them anyway.
So I have a plea. The next time you are lucky enough to have some face-to-face time with a loved one, treasure it. Be grateful. Show them that their words matter to you by focusing on what they say. And leave your phone in your pocket.
(Yay, someone actually reads this blog so regularly they wanted to hear my opinions on something specific!)
The topic?
The smartphone.
We'll be clear, I love my little smartphone. I'm a huge fan of being able to watch Netflix, play solitaire, send a text, listen to Pandora, and check my social media. It's lightweight, reliable, and just generally pretty awesome.
But I have moments where I would literally like to slap the phone out of people's hands.
I've been getting so irritated lately. I can be having dinner with someone, at a group outing, at a party, even having a phone conversation, and suddenly I'm repeating myself. Why? Because a Facebook notification came up and had to be checked instantly. Because, blatantly, I've been told that I am less important than a piece of technology.
Let's be very transparent for a moment.
I do not repeat myself.
I grew up with a deaf parent.
I learned to speak clearly and slowly so she could read my lips, and frequently had to say the same thing repeatedly for her to understand it. I still do.
I do it for my mom because she hasn't been able to learn sign language and I need to be able to communicate with her. I do it because she really and truly wants to know what I'm saying and sometimes she just can't catch it. I do it because I see that she would give anything to be able to have an effortless conversation again.
So, to me, it is unbelievably rude to make me reiterate what I just verbalized because you were too distracted. It's insulting to watch someone take advantage of the fact that they are lucky enough to have their hearing and can have an easy conversation.
Whoever "liked" your selfie will still show that they "liked" it in an hour.
Your newsfeed will show you the same news in the morning as it will right this second if you scroll down far enough.
And if someone is announcing their big news to you on Facebook and not calling, texting, or better yet talking to you in person to announce it, then you're really not too good of a friend to them anyway.
So I have a plea. The next time you are lucky enough to have some face-to-face time with a loved one, treasure it. Be grateful. Show them that their words matter to you by focusing on what they say. And leave your phone in your pocket.
Comments
Post a Comment