Why So Many Devices?

IPods, cellphone, tablets, and more. What did we ever do without all the devices we have available today? I’m not sure how we survived. It is almost part of getting dressed in the morning, maybe more important. I mean, I may go out without my pants on but you can bet the bank that I won’t leave my cellphone behind. What is wrong with us?

All Things Technology

It’s safe to say we are a very techy people today. If you have a phone in your hand, you have any kind of information you could ask for. In a split second, too. Unless you’re like me and have sketchy service in your area. Then it may take 5-10 seconds which seems like a lifetime.

I was looking at an old phone book the other day and it occurred to me that we never use those things now. And if you mention the words “phone book” to someone in this generation,  most of them have no idea what you are talking about. Phone books have become almost extinct, as have landline phones.

More Harm Than Good?

I have to wonder if this modern way is doing us more harm than good. As great as it all seems, and as convenient as it is to have so much information at our fingertips, wouldn’t it be great to just go back to the good ole days when there were no interruptions at dinner? Most of us today can’t remember those times, but they did exist. Times when we sat down to a meal and we enjoyed each other’s conversation, not the phones in front of us. Times when we played in the yard with our kids, not handed them a device so that we could play a game on our own. Times when we did all sorts of things without these handy little computers attached to us that we think we can not live without.

Let’s talk about our phone for just a minute and walk through a generic day for most of us. We wake up with them right beside us, they are our alarm clock. We shower with them very near, so we can hear our favorite tunes. We take them to breakfast so that we can listen or read the news or begin reading our work email before we get to the office, as if we didn’t read enough of it last night at midnight. And don’t forget texting, oh yes, we’ve already sent and recieved numerous texts and it’s not quite 8 a.m. We’re holding it tightly as we kiss our spouse goodbye and rush out the door while talking to “whoever” via bluetooth, now that’s the greatest, right? And that conversation continues in the car while we make our drive to work. The phone never leaves our sight all day. It’s our secretary, reminding us of each meeting or appointment and even birthday party for our kids. It’s our pedometer, because we must get at least 10,000 steps in each day; God knows we do not have time to hit the gym. It’s our live concert when we just need to turn off the outside world for a bit, well, at least until the boss walks in and we quickly turn it off. That’s the good part about it. No one ever knows what we’re really doing. Right? It keeps up with our calories, our finances, and anything else we can possibly think of. If we need to travel, we have GPS in our hand. We can listen to jokes, podcasts, music, we can watch movies, youtube videos, all kinds of everything right there on that little bitty device. There is an app for everything! But….

What are we missing?

There’s Life Out There

If we look up and out, there’s so much out there that we are missing while we are buried in our phones. Our children are suffering because of the decisions we make. They do not understand that there are other ways to have fun. Take the time to enjoy this beautiful world we live in. And we are teaching them that it’s ok to ignore the people who should mean the most to us by simply devoting so much time to a little device that consumes us daily.

Recently I saw a short video posted on social media that almost brought tears to my eyes. It’s about what our phones are doing to our relationships. I’ll post it at the end of this article. Please take a few minutes to watch it. It reminded me of how far from the basics I’ve gotten. We shove a device in the hand of a three year old to keep them quiet while we make a phone call or watch tv or even play a game. What happened to playing with the child? We need to spend time with our kids, with our family. Nothing upsets me more than having all my kids and grandkids over for family time only to have most everyone sitting there with phones in their hands playing a game or texting to doing whatever they’re doing on their phone. Especially at the dinner table!!! Am I the only one who feels this way? I can’t be!

 My Neck Hurts

I recently visited my chiropractor with neck pain that I frequently have from an old injury, but it is often aggravated. We soon became engaged in a conversation much like the contents of this article. He told me that in the short time he’d been practicing he was shocked to see his clientele had grown to so many young children of elementary school age, most of which complained of neck and head pain. He and I both agreed this is probably from so much time on devices. I say this because using a device makes my neck injury hurt terribly bad.

I find my grandchildren complaining with headaches and neck aches, things I never remember having as a child. We ran outside and played from daylight til dark with other kids. We learned to make relationships. That’s something our kids today do not know how to do. We need to take these devices from them and send them outside to play.

Don’t forget to watch the video below. I think you’ll be glad you did.

Be blessed,
Nana