We all get stuck in our “me” bubble from time to time and we may need to reprogram ourselves to get out.
I get a lot of questions thrown my way. Perhaps it’s the nature of my job or that people are truly interested in my thoughts and opinions on topics or how my family is doing. I often spend conversations crafting answers to questions and I don’t get a chance to ask as many questions back as I would like. I feel guilty. I would prefer asking people about their day or how they feel about things. Because of these moments, I often feel like I come across as “that guy” who is stuck in his bubble. All he cares about is himself. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
When it comes to how we communicate, one of the best and worst inventions has to be the internet. The fact that we can access the internet everywhere and anywhere-resulting in our desire to hide behind a screen, opposed to communicating and connecting on a more literal platform. This is not something we should be proud of. I heard someone say the other day that people don’t need to go to high school reunions anymore because everything we want to learn or experience from a reunion, we can already do via social media. There’s a lot of truth to that. The dirty laundry, where they have been, who they married, what they do, etc is all out there for the world to see on Facebook. So why not just skip the expense of getting on a plane or renting a hotel room for a night? Everything you wanted to know can be figured out by glancing at a Facebook wall. Depending on how good of a selfie taker they are, you can tell how many pounds they gained since high school. If your high school crush has no pictures from the neck down, you dodged a bullet! I kid, I kid….
Shouldn’t our relationships and connections go beyond that? Is there more to being human or wanting to stay wired into the world than what there is to learn from Facebook? If we don’t like the conversation we burry ourselves in our phones. If we are feeling uneasy about our surroundings, we run to the world of apps. We kill time killing brain cells with stupid games or feeds instead of taking in the world around us. It’s there. Take advantage of it before it’s gone-meaning the moment. Most of what resides on the internet will be there for you tomorrow. You know, when you’re reading on the toilet.
I bet you learn more by forcing yourself to communicate for real than you would from checking your email. So much of your life can be squandered because you run to your iPhone security blanket. You’ll watch your kids grow up through that small window and not in physical real time. You paid a ton of money to sit front row, only to watch the concert through the screen of your phone. You’ll live your life in a digital bubble and miss out on all the great stuff in your peripheral. We are creating a generation of cross eyed people, with memories of life experiences that match the picture that was taken and not the true life experience. We see pictures posted, showing everyone how great of a time we are having, instead of just having a great time. It didn’t happen unless we posted it right? You’re not a great parent unless you post a picture of yourself playing with your kids, right? I’m guilty of this, but in all honesty, I have awesome kids! I probably only post 2% of the things we do. Yet, I am just as guilty as everyone else
Leave your phone in your pocket. Connect more with the room you are in and not to the internet. Watch the concert and tell everyone what you saw. Don’t show us a slide show of pictures you took with your phone that we get bored looking at after the 3rd one. Get out of your bubble and see the world how it was meant to be seen.
Real. Live. unfiltered.
