2 Things And A Guest Post.

First, my Dad's surgery went well. No cancer in his lymph nodes either. He is home from the hospital resting comfortably. Deep sigh of relief.

Second (and a preface to my guest post), I spend a lot of time at home or in the small town I live in. I hadn't been to a mall in quite sometime until last Sunday. I admit I stuck out like a sore thumb as I was hurriedly running errands, checking off my To Do list and engaging in conversation with the cashier/sales attendants. It seemed the vast majority of shopper's eyes were downcast, focused only on their smart phones, thumbs twitching and walking like zombies. I was dodging the oncoming cruise-controlled traffic. The mall was eerily quiet except for muted talking, buzzes and beeps (I actually heard the overhead music). This reminded me of a conversation my sister Deanna and I had a few weeks back. She told me she recently reconnected with a childhood friend and after they had coffee a couple times she told him that if they were going to continue to hang out, he should show her the courtesy of not using his phone the duration of their visit and she would return the courtesy. She told me she prefaces every new friendship, acquaintance (she works in politics so she meets a lot of people) in this manner. I admire her for her honesty and frankness. I asked her to guest post about our relationship with technology, here is her post and a photo she took in Whole Foods last night.

Soap Box by Deanna Sattler

Allow me to step up on my soap box to talk about technology. In epidemic proportions, people are committing the faux pas of looking toward their phones rather than at the people around them. Between Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Four Square and many more people are turning their eyes down and missing what is in front of them. How many times have you been sitting with friends over a meal or drinks when your companion's eyes are glued to their phone? I am guilty of falling in love with my newest devise. Our phones, tablets, and laptops have become extensions of ourselves. We are innovative, we are exciting, we are the best and newest out there. But at what cost? Are we sacrificing real life observations to an online presence? Are our relationships paying the price for our online addictions?

 

 

Thanks Deeds! And one more thing...if you do choose to focus on your phone instead of the physical people you are spending time with, please do not read your texts aloud as you are typing them. You sound like an idiot.