Misconnected

So I was minding my own business this week, or so I thought. I was scouring my facebook and g+ feeds, wondering why my phone wasn't blowing up as much as it should. I was sad because I was watching other peoples awesome lives and realizing that I didn't do anything of substance on this day.  I was doing the things I thought I was supposed to do kinda going through the motions, however, I realized something was off.  I wasn't able to put my finger on it until yesterday.  Thanks to a great friend, Mr Shawn Antonio, I came home last night and realized just what it was. Maybe you have seen this video, maybe you haven't.  If you haven't, here you go, its five minutes of your life.  I have also added some thoughts below.



We have become too addicted to our phones.  We spend about 60-80% of our day on the computer, phones or tablets building another world so that we don't have to face the one around us. We live vicariously through our friends facebook wall so we don't have to admit how lackluster our is.  We get jealous when we see that our friends are having more fun than us, or traveling someplace we have never been and then we resent. We resent the life that is right in front of us even though its the life that we were so awesomely given.

We keep hoping for a missed connection or a new one, when we probably have one right in front of us.  We are anxiously awaiting a sales lead or a job offer, but in reality, we are missing the life that is around us.  We have become inseparable from our phones.  The thing we seek the most, the human connection, is often times right in front of us, yet we can't see it because we are texting or updating our status. We spend all day texting our friends, when what we could do is have a phone call and eliminate 90% of the "time suck" as I like to call it texting back and forth.  Yes written word can be powerful, but not in the context of texting.  I write my blog because I enjoy writing and conveying ideas. You can't convey those ideas or emotions for that matter in a text.

We miss conversations because so often we are looking down at our phones.  We have created this alter relationship with our phones and in reality we need to disconnect.  Have a conversation, say hello, hear the tone in someones voice.  I took this video from "Warm Bodies" and it sums up what we are becoming.


How did we live our lives before cell phones?  I remember the days of having a land line, getting my own phone in my room...man that was a big deal.  I remember fondly the days of meeting a girl at school and giving her my number and then looking forward to calling her after school. I remember hearing her voice and laughing and learning about her.  I put in effort and was interested.  Now I say good morning or hello via text because "Well I don't like talking on the phone" or "I am too busy for phone calls".  I am pressed for time and in truth have become uninteresting.  My poems have turned to 140 character notes.  My connections are lackluster and I don't pay enough attention to the friends I have when I am with them because I am too busy taking photos of myself or checking myself in someplace, or checking to see who texted me, to truly appreciate the moment and possibly have the thing I miss the most----a connection.

It has to stop.  I am not that important.  I don't need to be on my phone all the time.  I am Mr. Social Media, but I am not social.  I need to be more connected to people in the physical world.  I want phone calls and less texts.  I want to have a cup of coffee with you and not see your phone.  For all the great that social media does, there is a huge gap that needs to be bridged and it won't be with a faster processor or a brighter, higher resolution screen.  Wayne Gretsky once said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take".  I agree but would like to rephrase, "You miss 100% of the connections you don't make"  Think about it.  Put down your phone and start living your life. Make a connection today, not on facebook or twitter, or g+,  but in real life.  Smile at someone, make someone laugh, talk to a complete stranger or lend an ear to a friend in need. Do something that doesn't require your phone, computer or tablet.

If this post was relevant to you or moved you in any way, call me, don't just leave a comment.

Until next time