Ruining Everything

What’s the last thing you look at when you go to bed and the first thing you look at when you wake up?

Entering the barbershop I  made my way to the corner where there’s a soft leather couch. I like to sit there for a few minutes because the couch is so comfortable. On each visit I wonder where they got the couch and think about where it would fit in my home, it wouldn’t unless I finished the basement.

On this visit there was someone across from me that I made eye contact with just as I was sitting down. There was a quick acknowledgement like a half “hello” or “hi.” As I sat on my favorite couch I pulled out the smart phone and started tapping away. The damn phone that’s ruining everything.

Thinking back to a time before smartphones I think I remember something about conversations or even reading books. They seem like distant memories but I do know books still, I have plenty of them only they are more decoration now. I remember too how it feels to dive into a book that pulls you in so much that you just can’t put it down. My favorite books are biographies and science fiction. I’ve never come away with much satisfaction from winning at Words with Friends, as seldom as that happens.

Have you ever sat down with someone and all they do is tap away on their phone? It’s like a never-ending cycle of tapping, scrolling, checking,  playing, and checking again. You feel like there’s no way you can compete with the phone because it provides endless time killing material. I’ve only met one or two people with the capacity to overtake the smartphone who could talk so fast and constant that you don’t have time to even look away from them let alone check your social media and/or make a move on Words with Friends.

I’m guilty of using my phone at inappropriate times. When is an inappropriate time? When someone is trying to talk to you and they only see your head at a 45 degree angle, when you are at a wedding, funeral, movie, or in the checkout lane at the grocery store are all times when you should pay attention to what’s going on around you. I won’t go on a rant about texting and driving, you know who you are. Stop doing that. I promise I will too. I’m also going to make a habit of keeping my phone in my pocket when around friends. I won’t make the person or people with me feel like they are second to my smart phone.