I recently watched a short film about how every moment, mundane or grandiose, in a person’s life appears to be dominated by the usage of their phone. Sharing and taking photos, texting other people, capturing even the ubiquities of life and masking it as splendid. There should be moments in life that should only be remembered and not recorded. Marriage proposals, getting a strike at a bowling alley, going for a jog up a hill, sharing conversations with your friends, etc., these are the moments that need to reflected on rather than shown through imagery (photos, videos). You can’t capture a marriage proposal unless it’s fully planned, you can’t film yourself getting a strike at the bowling alley, and you definitely can’t film yourself during a hike (keep it minimal, don’t take a million!). We’ve lost our identities and the magic joy through the tiny mundaneness of life being too connected to Social Media and technology. It has inspired me to write this essay. We, as a society, need to just be ourselves for who we are and embrace even the most mundane situations as special. A big part of humanity that is slowly slipping from our hands is these moments of socialization. A simple conversation.
Conversations can make us laugh, conversations can make us cry, they can make us cringe, make us gasp; even make us jump for joy. There can stupid conversations; there can be intellectual conversations, conversations that are all too awkward. But buried deep within those moments of awkwardness – the stupid joke, the long pauses, surprising reveals, the interruptions, the loudness, the silence, the breathing, and the judgment. Beneath all of these ‘awkward facets’ and more, we have the truth, whether good or bad, it’s real. So next time when you pull out your phone at a group table when one of these ‘awkward’ snippets arise, ask yourself, “Why are you doing it” Embrace the silence and the fears of being “there”, and remember you can check your phones later cause that phone will still be in your lap. Just the same as it was 10 minutes ago, 20 minutes ago, an hour ago. Live your life and tell the tales after. Don’t tell the tale as you’re living your life, these are roadblocks. Telling stories goes way farther than just showing a picture or a video. You’ll use your imagination more
Profoundly Stupid 