It may seem as though, with cell phones, CNN, FaceBook, MySpace and Twitter that we are more connected than we ever were. But, we are really just more connected with a small group of people and less connected with our own world.
It always makes me feel sad to be in a restaurant and see a parent spending quality time with their child by spending the whole meal, talking on the cell phone while their child sits there alone, eating their own lunch with no one to talk to.
People, if you are going to take your child to lunch, I do not care if they are five or twenty-five, turn the phone off and get to know them. You can return the call when the meal is over, but you only have a short time to connect with your child. You cannot go home and yell at them for something you feel they should not have done, if you cannot take time to get to know who they are.
I shall step down off my soapbox now and get back to updating my website.
Thank you!
Just your description make me feel sad. I’m going to forward this post to my daughter who is constantly texting — while we’re shopping, while we’re eating, while we’re watching TV, while we’re talking. And not just me; she does the same thing with friends. They all sit in the same room texting friends who aren’t there. Once in a while they share what someone has texted with the group. The rest of the time they’re not even talking to each other.
I have seen it so many times, from little kids, to teens, that are sitting alone with their dad on the weekend or their mom during the week or whatever, and the parent spends the whole, dang meal on the phone.
One day, I shall flip and yank the phone out of one of their ears and get arrested.
People used to walk by and smile or not or say hello and now they are so busy on the blasted phones that we might as well all be in a little bubble.
EMT had a phone with texting and I didn’t see his face for a whole month.
It is not a change for the better, I think.