How Technology Is Making Us Miss Out On Life

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This post was previously published on Peter Hoare's Tumblr."Life moves pretty fast.If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”-Ferris BuellerI’m without question guilty of thefollowing. Everything I’m about to vilify, I do. I’m well aware that I stink.But being aware that a problem exists is the first step in solving it. With thatsaid…Relaxation is becoming a lost art. Old people can sit on a stoop,sip a glass of iced tea and just, well, be. They don’t feel the need to Instagramtheir view from the porch. They don’t need to tweet, “This iced tea sucks afat one! LoLz!” They don’t check in at “Jeb’s Porch.” Theycan just sit, decompress, think, reflect, relax. How many of us can do the same? Let’s play a game. The next time you’re at a busy bar, look around. If youcount more than 10 people on their phone, buy me a beer. If not, I’ll buy you five.I’ll win every time. Before smartphones existed, what did people do at bars andrestaurants? Talk to each other more? Maybe borrow a quarter to go beep someone with80085? At the goddamned beach, an area designated for relaxation, you’ll see averitable sea of people on their phones. And by people, yes, I’m including my stupidself. Why? What sh*t is so important that we can’t leave our phones off whilewe’re at the beach? Call me crazy, but I suspect all beach-related phone activity isless checking for that life-altering email and more updating your Facebook status to say“At the beach!” or some derivative thereof. Smartphones make stupid people.I’m not saying people should give up technology. That’s asinine. If*cking love technology. I’m the modern man, damn it! But, like everything in life,moderation is the key. And I certainly don’t subscribe to the belief that peopleshould stay off Facebook. Those who don’t at least acclimate themselves to Facebookto a small degree aren’t on some kind of intellectual plane that the rest of us arenot. What they’re doing is consciously being left behind. Like it or not, someoneresisting Facebook today is the equivalent of someone resisting email 20 years ago. Howmany letters do you currently write? Nowadays I can literally go weeks without even usinga pen. It’s the inevitable evolution of society, for better or worse. I’m notagainst the use of technology. I’m against the overuse of it, because Facebook andits socialmedia brethren distract us from real life. Life is a series of moments,seamlessly strung together one by one. Nothing more, nothing less. And, sadly, once theyhappen, they’re gone forever. Life has no DVR. As much as I wish it were, thisisn’t Saved By The Bell. We aren’t Zack Morris. We can’t freezetime, break the fourth wall and pontificate about why Lisa Turtle won’t blow Screechbehind a dumpster at The Max. Trust me, I wish we could. Each day a ridiculously hotblonde girl longboards passed my apartment. You better believe if the possibility existedI would Zack Morris the f*ck out of those moments. But I can’t. So there she goes,rolling over my heart in the process. Time, much like the mysterious, buxom longboarder,moves on.What I’m saying is, appreciate the moments in realtime. Whenever we pause to tweet, Instagram or Facebook, we miss something. Live themoment, then reflect. Doing the opposite is like ordering a hamburger, telling everyoneyou know the hamburger will be amazing, then only eating the burger when it's cold and notas good. That, for my money, sucks. Also, now I’m hungry. And like Isaid, I’m aware of my guilt. I, more than many of you, am guilty of everything Ijust wrote about. Some days my iPhone battery dies before lunch. Pathetic? Sure is. ButI’m a work in progress. Lately I’ve been consciously trying to soak up themoments, one by one, as they happen. I’m also trying to learn how to properly relax.And if I do, I’ll try and tell you about it. With my mouth, not my thumbs.Peter Hoare tweets here and blogs here. Continue Reading

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