Breathing and Texting: Same Thing Right?
You've seen it. Four people eating lunch together and all are hunkered over the ominous glow of their phones, thumbs bent poking swiftly and skillfully at their keys. Some laughing, some serious but all not connecting with who they are actually having lunch with. Don't get me wrong, the technology is awesome and at times very convenient. I remember when texting first came about and I refused to use it. But the more I saw the convenience of it the more I welcomed it. Now, I find myself preferring texting over actually speaking on the phone somedays. And there are times when you might find yourself in a situation where you don't have the time to talk or you could be somewhere where you have to be quiet and can't talk. There are also those circumstances where you don't want to talk to someone period. So yes, texting provides a certain convenience. But we are human and we shouldn't forget to use our verbal and social skills in order to communicate as well.
The ones I really have a problem with though, are the ones you see walking aimlessly amongst us that don't even take the time to look up, give a smile and say hi or to see where they are going anymore. Eye contact with them has pretty much flown the coop altogether. It's as though they can't live without it. There have been a few occasions where I have had to stop in the flow of my walking because someone texting is headed in my direction but doesn't see me in order to go around me. And it is me, that has to be the one to look out for the texter. How does that etiquette work? So to those that blindly walk with phone in hand and a twittering comment in mind please take the time every 5 minutes to look up, join society and see where you are going. You will make it through life without your smartphone.
