Adventure Ten: Relationship Status

Let’s talk relationships.

Relationships take time to build. They require effort and attention. They thrive off of commitment. They function at their best when all is balanced. They take some getting used to, but once the connection is made, it’s difficult to imagine life without it.

I’m not referring to romantic, familial, or working relationships.

I’m talking about relationship with technology—our cellphones in particular.

It goes without argument that developments in technology over the last decade or so have far surpassed anything we could have ever imagined. Our cellphones serve as a source of entertainment and enlightenment on what goes on around us, both near and far. Everything we care about keeping tabs on is right at our fingertips.

The thought of going about our day without our cells held tight in our grasp is a difficult one to digest. How are we supposed to check our email? How are we supposed to prepare for the weather? How are we supposed to stay in touch with local news? How are we supposed to stay connected with our friends and family?

It seems ridiculous to even entertain the idea because without our cell phones, we feel utterly disconnected from reality—a dangerous kind of dependency that we have become eerily numb to.

This growing attachment to our phones has singlehandedly been the demise of our social skills and our understanding of what it means to interact with others. Striking up a conversation while waiting in line at the grocery store or post office has become a social taboo that only the bravest of souls have tried, and failed, to combat.

The shameless obsession with our cellphones has fueled the epidemic that is sweeping the nation at an alarming rate—the fear of social interaction. Touch screens have made us lose touch with reality. We’re finding more satisfaction in the interactions with our phones than we do with our friends. We spend more time trying to connect to Wi-Fi than we do the people around us. This self-inflicted social isolation has made us more separated from society than we fully realize because we’re blinded by the brightly lit screens that fit in the palm of our hands.  

So how can we stay connected to society without being completely consumed by our cellphones? How can we define social interaction without the use of social media? How do we tune into reality without tuning into technology? How can we maintain relationships with our peers without having to negate the luxury of technology? It’s all about balance.

Keep your phone by your side, but let your eyes and ears wander. Snap a picture of your food and then dig in, before the meal and the mood spoil. Update your status about how great your day is, and how you’d love to share the details with friends over coffee or on a walk. Don’t let your relationship with your cell dictate your relationship with society. You can still stay tuned in, even when you’ve tuned out.