How Not to Be Alone

In the article, Not to Be Alone it states "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." I am a full believer of this quote. With this day in age all you have to do is look around and i promise you that you will see more children, teenagers, and adults on their phones then people who are not on their phones. I have twin cousins age 6, They do not go anywhere without their Ipad and if they forget and leave them at home it will be a rough day for them. We all look back and realize when we were kids that we had truck, cars, books, if we were lucky a game boy. But i look at my cousins at such a young age and realize where they are giving all of their attention to.. the Ipad. But then again they are no different than us with our phones constantly checking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram ect. Our phones also give us an excuse to seem "busy". We are all guilty of it. We see that ex girlfriend walking down the hall and we meditatively pull out our cell phones almost as a shield. Or while waiting at the bus stop we scroll aimlessly through our phones instead of striking up a conversation with the person next to us. "We often use technology to save time, but increasingly, it either takes the saved time along with it, or makes the saved time less present, intimate and rich". Cell phones these days with all the apps and capabilities are almost like alcohol or cigarettes. You can drink without having to drink all the time. You can smoke but not have to smoke all the time, and you can be on your cell phone but not use it as a crutch or a shield all the time. People are to blame when it comes to who's fault is it that everyone is constantly on their cell phones. I am the person where if we are having a conversation my phone is in my pocket at all times and you have my undivided attention. If its a matter where you need more of my attention i will even turn my phone off. Yes my phone is handy but at the end of the day i could live without it. I have used it as a shield to avoid awkward situations with ex girlfriends but everyone is guilty of it. Those of you who cant stop looking at your screen for more than 30min i challenge you to. "We are creatures of memory more than reminders, of love more than likes. being attentive to the needs of others might not be the point of life, but it is the work of life. It can be messy, and painful, and almost impossibly difficult. But it is not something we give. It is what we get in exchange for having to die." Take time put your phone down for 30min and enjoy the people around you, give them your attention.