Talk about awkward, here is a situation for you. You are sitting in a restaurant and everyone is taking out their phone to take a picture of their food and a "snap chat selfie" with their buddies and the delicious spread around you. Everyone is doing it except for you because you realize how ridiculous your friends look and how there seems to be no human interaction happening. Why is it that we do this? To impress people that we are having an awesome and busy life? To get validation from people that we barely talk to? To let everyone know you are Mr./Ms. popular? Well, I am not going to lie because I used to be a victim to all of this until last summer in California.
Trust me guys, I understand taking pictures because it really is important to remember these things. I understand taking a group picture at a restaurant to remember the occasion but I don't get the countless selfies or constant pictures of food. Last summer I went to San Jose to visit my uncle, cousin, and grandparents who were visiting from India. My uncle wanted to do something special for me, my brother, and cousin so he took us to the ever so famous In and Out burger joint. I was in the middle of a pretty amazing conversation with one of my best friends at the time and I couldn't keep my eyes off my phone. My brother was texting all his friends from college because he was missing them a ton. My cousin was texting her cross country buddies talking about how amazing practice was. Then there was my uncle who has a phone but didn't have it out. He put it on silent to remember his time with us. A little background on my uncle? He treats me more like a sister; always teasing and joking around with me but I am the apple of his eye, for sure. I know he cares because he taught me one of the most valuable lessons.
He took our phones out of our hands and stacked them in the middle but put them on full blast to let us know that we are missing out on the texts. He said we could have them back after eating and needless to say, he took what seemed like forever. I got the most amount of text rings and yea, it drove me insane. However, I look back at that day and I realized what me and my friend were talking about could've waited. I should just live in the moment. So now? My phone is not my priority when I am with my family or friends. Do I feel alone considering society around me? Of course! But I know I'm doing the right thing. Take this lesson, fine people of Comm 322, it will be awesome in the long run.
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