Socially Awkward...

The world is obsessed with what’s outside of its peripheral vision. This causes most who have a smart phone to ignore the atmosphere in which they dwell. Now the world is fixated on what everyone else is doing, volunteering hourly whereabouts, and strangers now know our personal thoughts. What happened to the days of a little privacy?

It’s pretty scary if you think about it. I too was once on social networks before I deleted everything. Facebook was an easy way for me to stay in contact with old classmates. Twitter was my means of sending out inspirational messages. My short lived account on Instagram was simply to appease my close friends that wanted to include me on vacation trips. No, I never had all three at the same time. Facebook was the first to go, then Twitter, and then Instagram. The same order in which they were introduced was the same order they were deleted. But one day something changed.

At times it seemed as though my phone was glued to my hand. Every ten minutes I was reaching for my phone when I received an alert. Going to dinner with family and friends consisted of us sitting at the table in silence for extended periods of time as we checked our phone, took pictures of our food and then resorted to sharing them with the world on social networks. It’s easy to miss the moment you’re in, when you’re busy trying to connect with the world through your phone. Someone brought it to my attention that I always got on my phone when I was at a restaurant while waiting for my food. What else was I going to do? Engage in conversation? Bingo!

When I deleted everything, I learned that I didn’t have an attachment to my phone as I once did. I could leave it in my purse and didn’t have to walk around the store with it in my hand. I could go hours without looking at it unless I was checking the time. Want to know a secret? Those “friends” on social networks who also had my phone number, no longer contacted me on a daily nor even a monthly basis. There were a lot of convenient friendships that formed due to social networks. Eventually, I began emailing my friends messages. A few of them were shocked, but it was a form of communication that we did away with a while ago when it became convenient to send 140 characters instantly for the world to see.

Last year I went on several dates with a guy that was overall nice. Though he was polite and funny, he was addicted to his phone. He’d scroll through his phone during dinner when talking to me, he’d look through his phone while we were in the movies (yes the movie was playing), and I’d even glance over and see him scrolling through his phone during church. And before you defend him, he was not looking at a bible app. He was a great conservationist when he put the phone down. He never complained when I asked him to put his phone away at dinner, but I knew that once the bill was paid and he hit the door to the parking lot, he’d be checking his messages.  To be honest, he first asked me out on a date via text message. While I didn’t complain, it would have been nice for him to ask me in person or at least call. We did see each other fairly often before we started going out on dates. There are still a few of us that are old school and would like to be asked in person, a bouquet of flowers when you greet us, and show us chivalry isn’t dead.

Sometimes we miss our moment by reading and engaging in everyone else’s. On average, how long do you spend on social networks a day? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to stay connected, but when you become more interested in the life of others than what you see daily through your own experiences, it may be time to put the phones, iPads, and laptops down for a while.

It’s funny when it comes to a shock of others that I don’t have any social networking pages. It’s the new norm. A friend had to convince me to do this blog. Although it’s completely anonymous, it’s still me sharing my thoughts with others. Do you think you could completely go without social networking for 30 days in all forms? That means Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, Instagram, dating sites, etc. I’m not sure what all has been developed as I am now socially network awkward. Don’t miss out on experiencing the moment. Every good thing doesn’t have to be shared. Keep a couple of special moments to yourself. Believe me the world won’t mind if you do.