Lifestyle

Why, For Such An Advanced Generation, We're So Far Behind

by Danny C.
Stocksy

The hook-up culture is immature; you should buy a girl a drink before you start humping her leg in a dirty bar. Texting when you are a room away is ineptitude for social contact.

Taking a picture to get likes is narcissism at its finest. I live in a world where I am a generation behind.

I like the simple pleasures -- eating, laughing, playing sports, sleeping, human interaction.

But, alas, I turn to my left on the way to class and see people aimlessly watching their fablets (noun: fabulous piece of technology hindering social interaction), hoping for a message or like on some piece of spectacular nothingness that fills up our lives!

We watch our phones, hoping we get some appreciation in some form of technical notification. Our minds clutter with useless knowledge about how many followers, friends or likes one Photoshopped image has, and we ignore the important things in life.

I don’t mean to be a judgmental nuisance and I don’t need to sound naggy, like everyone else ranting about this generation.

I, too, crave the likes and the attention of my peers, yet I want a world where people talk on the trains and have meaningful conversations at dinner; where wonderment is still alive and the grass that grows in Africa can’t be seen from a fablet continents away.

I miss the creativity and curiosity from my childhood that drove me to be the individual I was, not the basic bitch I have become.

After going crazy thinking about the world that is not, however, I had an epiphany that maybe I am the one in the wrong.

We live in a time of constant communication where digital sharing has allowed us to stay in contact with people in other time periods we would have long ago forgotten about. Maybe I am the one who is wrong for not having more than 5,000 followers.

Maybe I am wrong for having five great friends, not 2,000.

I live my life trying to limit the time I am on my phone with friends — never at dinner or ever, for that matter, with my grandma. It is tough to see fourth graders with the newest iPhones because when I was their age, I was more concerned with whether I would play kickball or tag at recess.

I love that we are more informed than ever, but I wish we could remember when there was no Twitter and people who knew the news had to read the paper. I wish I had to remember vacations with my memory rather than Instagram.

I live and breathe the same way other people do, but I long for real connection to people outside of technology. I don’t want my friendships to be based on Snapchat and reply tweets.

The friends I have are great, but it’s tough to build relationships when everyone is more concerned with likes and heart signs on their screens rather than something that might be unfolding right under their noses.

Life is moving pretty fast, and for me to say you are a fool for refreshing your favorite app to see how many likes you have is my own opinion.

I know double tapping the screen makes you happy, but know this: There are people out there who view the world as a playground, who go out each day realizing they have the greatest opportunity in the world -- to live.

So, the moral of the story is to put down the phone. Keep it -- who cares? But, don’t be a waste of space; live life because, ultimately, no one will care that your food porn had 1,000 likes or you were Vine famous for a day.

People will care about the kind of person you are, not the filtered version your Instagram portrayed.