Anti-Social Society

The past week and a half, I have been traveling a lot. In reality, I have been traveling a lot this past month! No, it isn't really an excuse for why I have not posted a blog recently. And, no, I'm not trying to make my life sound all glorious because I have been driving and flying around the U.S. In reality, although I have been experiencing a lot, I have become anti-social while doing it.

Think about the last time you got in an elevator. You stand impatiently outside the doors with the button illuminated and the shaft creaking to a stop at your floor. You peer up from your phone screen just as the doors slide open to see a few other folks awaiting your entrance in the small square.

You take a few quick steps in, turn your back to the others inside and watch the doors merge toward the middle. Mere seconds after those doors close, your eyes divert back to your phone screen. You might have shared a brief smile and second of eye contact with your fellow elevator riders, but that did not make much difference.

Why not? Did you say "hello" or hold nice conversation with the people around you? Did you give an "elevator speech" (pun intended) about what you do or why you are in the area? Nope. You were looking at your Instagram feed or reading the latest Buzzfeed post. It's a shame.


Some remember when elevators still had background music that you would hear as you go up or down. That "elevator music" might need to come back in today's society. Social networking started out as a fun, innovative way to stay connected and be "in the know" of what our friends and family were up to. Now, it consumes most of us. We receive news, follow companies, take personality quizzes and share photos and videos instantaneously. We send 10 send videos and post them on our Snapchat stories of our entire day spend at the local zoo. We have become used to having these resources at our fingertips thanks to the smartphone technology. However, this is becoming a barrier.

I am going to change my approach. No phones at the dinner table, minimize my Twitter, Instagram and Facebook use, and probably delete Snapchat... (haven't gotten quite there yet.) It's easy to share the moments for others to see. However, does that prevent you from experiencing it to your fullest with others?
I dare you to not let it.