Constantly Distracted by Clayton Davis

            Living in a world with as advanced technology as we have is certainly a good thing, right? What could be bad about the internet, smartphones, tablets, portable computers, smartwatches, or any of the other fancy gadgets we tend to carry around with us? Most people would say that there’s nothing wrong with it. We love our stuff. We love having something to do all the time. It is great to be able to pull up Instagram or snapchat whenever we have a few seconds of boredom. We love being connected so much that there are tons of social media sites or apps. There’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Kik, Swipe, Whisper, and countless others. Being bored is terrible. Right…?

            With all of the technologic advances made over the past few decades, most people are constantly doing something. Think about it, whenever you get bored what’s the first thing you do? I typically pull out my phone and play a game or check social media, even if I just did that a few seconds ago (cause hey, that baseball lifestyle account could have posted a new picture in the last 3 seconds, you never know). As a society, Americans especially, we don’t like to be bored. A lot of people, especially youth, do not really see a problem with this. However, some people have recognized a huge difference in how people act. We tend to spend more time on our phones than we do talking with each other and don’t always know how to make our own fun. If you go out to a public place, you can be pretty sure you will see a young kid doing something on an iphone or ipad. Or even if they don’t have their own phone, ipod, or tablet, it has become a common occurrence to hear “do you have games on your phone?” from a small child looking up at you.

            Some would say that we have taken the benefits of technology and turned them into bad things. There is a line from the TV show “Parks and Rec” where one character says, “Why do you constantly need to be distracted?” to another character who is addicted to his phone. I had never thought of it that way before, but once you get to thinking about it, that is what it has become. We constantly need to have something to do, and when we do not have anything going on, we complain about being bored. We do this so much so, that when children get in trouble, instead of spanking them, their parents take away their electronic privileges. While technology is certainly a blessing and has made our lives much easier, some people have become far too dependent on it and it has become a sort of crutch. Unplugging and doing something such as camping can be a great way to get away from tech for a bit. Plus, doing something like camping can be a great way to bond with those around you and get to know each other better.