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Are We Glued to Technology?
This past weekend, I visited my brother in Utah so we could have a last goodbye before he leaves the country for a while — so he can pursue his passions and dreams. I am so fucking proud of him. But while I won’t see him for at least two years in the States (I of course plan to visit him overseas before then), I realized how hooked we are to technology. Glued is perhaps the more appropriate word. We, meaning society, myself included. Try as I might to limit my phone usage, I found myself checking my phone whilst my dear brother was, say, in the bathroom, leaving me alone for just a few minutes. But I wasn’t alone. I was in a cafe surrounded by people. Joyous people, at that. But I felt alone, because when I looked around this cute vintage cafe in St. George, Utah, I saw hoards of people alone together. There was a couple, each looking down on their phone screens. There was a group of teenage girls all laughing, but not at each other; no, they were laughing collectively at various things appearing on their screens. Even the people behind the wooden bar were looking at computer screens, not at each other or even the customers. What a sad way to live, being in the moment but not actually in the moment with whom you are surrounded.
That same trip showed me how hooked even my brother is to technology. A deep conversation in which I was pouring my heart out while my brother was glancing up and down…
