Why Your Cell Phone Is Ruining Your Social Life

It’s almost 2015 and most of us have cell phones than can do more than we even know what to do with. With the vast number of social networks, games, and mundane time-sucking apps, cell phones may seem like they enhance your social life. In actuality, your cell is crippling your social life. Here’s why.

1. You’re too busy looking down

Looking down all the time means never looking up. It means that we’re never experiencing life. Usually, it’s because we’re too focused on experiencing someone else’s life. We’re blindly scrolling through our Facebook feeds or our Instagram feeds and looking at what other people are doing. Why?!

As a person who enjoys photo documenting, I have to actively force myself to put the camera phone down and experience what’s in front of me.

2. You have no social skills

In general, we’re all becoming just a little more passive aggressive and a little less socially aware thanks to our cells. It may seem OK to roll your eyes or talk back to a text message, but when it comes to real life…that’s unacceptable.

Have you ever looked at a group of people…and everyone is on their cell phones? I often wonder “What are people doing? Do they really have that many texts? That many emails? That many social media notifications?”

Instead of communicating solely via messages with others, why don’t we start putting an emphasis on communicating in person? That means that instead of whipping your cell out in a group or social situation, put it away and enjoy the time you have with those people instead of the ones on the other side of your iMessages.

3. You aren’t comfortable alone

When’s the last time you went somewhere public and didn’t pull out your cell phone? It’s tough, but I try to do this on a regular basis because it helps me remember what it used to be like: going somewhere and striking up a conversation with a stranger or simply being a little more aware of my surroundings and just being for a change.

Regardless of the times, most of us can agree that needing a piece of technology – an extension of our very hands – to feel comfortable alone in a situation – is ridiculous when you really think about it.

4. You are completely unaware

Speaking of being aware…when’s the last time someone almost ran into you because they were texting or playing on their phone? When’s the last time you saw someone walk without looking into the street because they were looking down at a phone? Or how about the last time you heard about a horrific car accident because someone just had to send a text message?

The reality is that cell phones make us a little less aware of our surroundings which is, amongst other things, incredibly dangerous. Let’s be a little more aware, shall we?

So join me, will you? Let’s put the cell phones down and talk to each other. Let’s put the cell phones down and just be. And I’m not the only one who thinks we should. Check out the awesome video below: