We all thought we wouldn't bow down to the pressures of modern-day technology. Mobile phones and tablets that don't think for themselves, but manage to manipulate us into spending hours upon hours a day playing with them, wasting our time and most shockingly, exchanging time with loved ones for a few extra moments fiddling with our devices.
Pre-teens still have sleepovers, but now when their parents think they're all quiet and gone to sleep early, they're instead conversing on their technologies with people who aren't at the party via social media and instant messaging. They find the latest iPhone more interesting than joking around in person with their friends, and it's a frightening world that's beginning to become the norm.
We're all guilty of it. As I'm typing this now I can recall multiple times when I've been too invested in playing a game or surfing the web to keep up a conversation, though now it's something I'm actively trying to avoid.
Recently on a trip to Turkey, I was sat in a bar and noticed that every member of my party was on their mobile phone. I took a look around, taking in my surroundings. It was the same on every single table. So what did I do? I took out my own and checked Twitter.
As adults we don't like to set limits for ourselves in this area. We're not children anymore and so feel a sense of entitlement to be free to do what we like. But we don't over-indulge in other areas of life, so why are we so against self-managing when it comes to technology? We wouldn't eat 20 takeaways in a row simply because they taste good. It's not good for us - and neither is this technological eclipse.
Mary Berry's got it right. I recently read an interview where she said, if her family goes round to her house to visit, they have to 'hand in' all of their mobile phones so that whilst they're there, they actually converse with one another rather then waste her time in ignorant bliss. She laughed at herself for it, but it's actually quite genius.
Perhaps you're one of the rare, lucky few who hasn't been consumed by the beast that is technology addiction, but your partner or family members are. Have conversations with those people - without being condescending - about how they should limit their use, and how much you value real-life conversations with them, before it gets to the point where you hardly breathe two words to one another in a whole day.
We're all slipping into dangerous territory and if you let the chance to nip it in the bud before it's too late slip by, you may live the rest of your life tapping away on a screen, mesmerised by the lights and retina display rather than the goings on of your family members. And that'd just be sad.
Tagged in Technology