The Plug.

On this colder than I’d like it to be, somewhat rainy day, I went to take a break from writing one of my last undergrad papers.  As I put down my laptop, I go to pick up my IPhone. Of course I did the typical scroll through Facebook and Instagram until it occurred to me how seldom it is for me to unplug.

Earlier year I was uber proud of myself for deleting my Pinterest, Twitter and Snapchat. I had made myself a promise to limit my social media intake but I was still logging on more than I was logging off just on less social media outlets. Ultimately, I came back to Snapchat (for the filters- I’m not even going to act like I don’t like them) for a time and then deleted it again and created a new Twitter to be able to connect my blog to the hashtag-loving Twitter world. It’s crazy to think about how much time we spend on our phones, like absolutely insane. But it happens. Whether you’re spending hours watching videos on YouTube, pinning items to your Pinterest boards, or tweeting on Twitter up a storm, social media is always available…literally always. Originally created to connect the world more closely (which I’d like to think has happened in many ways), it has also very much disconnected us as well. Going out to restaurants, you see more couples than not on their phone (we’re guilty of it too). On vacation, you see most everyone glued to their phones as phones have taken the place of cameras obviously but still with folks primarily posting then and there (again, guilty of this too). Remember the days of using the camera on your trips then coming home and uploading them the old-fashion way through the computer? I hardly do myself, but it definitely used to be the norm.

For instance, one of the major reasons I left my sales position in automotive was due to this…NOT BEING ABLE TO PUT THE PHONE DOWN. It’s easier than it used to be, it’s not my only livelihood working wise as I once thought it was. While this past year has been much better in regards to not staying as plugged in, this is something I’ve had to work on. It’s like any other habit to be frank.

Over the past year, I feel as though I have grown a bit, simply by putting my phone down and being more present in the moment. Whether that be by not posting on Instagram as much to not checking in on Yelp or Facebook, I’ve worked at putting the phone down more than merely picking it up.

Staying plugged in may be the new social norm, but you’re more often than not missing the plug on what’s going on around you in the process.

How do you decide to stay plugged in versus not throughout your week?

I would love to hear some feedback on this topic.

P.S.- This was meant to be posted a month ago, but I got sidetracked, most likely by being too plugged in….if that tells you anything.