I was lying in bed this morning when Fraser came in from night shift – I was doing my morning scroll of the news, facebook, Twitter and Instagram. He got into bed snuggled in and looked over my shoulder and said “why are you on your phone?” Now this got me thinking.
I wouldn’t so much say I am a social media addict but I love posting on Instagram and looking through people’s pictures! However, when lying in bed I was thinking why am I sitting on my phone when I could just be enjoying a hug with my boyfriend?
Now, this does not just apply to relationships – Fraser is the person I spend most time with I probably notice it more with him. I can go weeks without seeing my friends and when we do see each other it involves the occasional chat but our phones will always be there. Are we missing out on the great times in life by publicising what we are doing on the Internet rather than actually spending the time doing it? Real relationships are formed through affection, mutual love and this is made by time spent together. Although I have already built that with these people, it scares me to think that I am potentially losing them to their phones when we are together, and I would hate someone to feel that way about me.
I was brought up in a generation when I was outside 8am – 9pm, I never had a games console and I stayed out everyday until I came home with dirt everywhere on my body and I was exhausted, but I loved it. I was never jealous of the people with play stations because I was having a great time, I didn’t have a mobile until I was a teenager – there was no need for one. Children now have iPads and iPhones, it saddens me to think they didn’t get to live the life I did was a child, they sit indoors with their eyes glued to games, pretty tragic. However, this is not the children’s fault, this is what they were brought up with. We need to educate children that mobile phones and tablets are a last resort for fun – it should not be the first thing they pick up in the morning and the last thing they put down at night. Let them go outdoors, let them see what we got to see as children.
I have no problem with iPhones and iPads as an adult, they are highly useful and we need them to communicate but I think it is time for me to cut back on the amount of time I sit scrolling on my phone. I am having a phone detox when I am on holiday with Fraser, we’ve been on a few holidays together and the best ones are when we don’t use wifi. I will still post a few Instagram pictures when we are there but I am not using it for anything else! We need to lift our eyes off the screen and see all the beautiful things in front of us.
Let’s look away from the screen.
Olivia Georgina Robertson - Life Blog 