Getting back to reality

Photo by Leisa Kinzy

Opinion by Austin McWhorter

amacrods@live.com

Photo by Mike Haynes

In the new era of technology, everything is keeping us out of touch with what really is important. Everyone’s lives now are run by instant gratification and simplicity.

We have forgotten in some way how to do simple tasks and think for ourselves.

Unless you live in the dark ages, you have a smart phone in your pocket that is your whole world.

You have everything on it: Facebook, emails, pictures, music, GPS, text messages and everything the Internet has to offer.

Could you remember all your friends’ numbers if you didn’t have your phone? I was thinking about it, and even though I call my girlfriend at least once a day, I have no clue what her number is.

I think that in many ways, society has been dumbed down by this new technology. We don’t have to remember anything anymore as we let our phones do the thinking for us.

Social media is becoming the only social life for many people.

Following people on Twitter and having a huge group of Facebook friends has taken the place of true friends.

It’s easier to put up a fake life in the cyberworld than to face the harsh realities of real life.

Social media is a great thing when it’s used as a way to keep in touch with distant friends, but when you start acting like you have true friends just because you know them via the Internet, there is a problem.

We need to know that social media is not the real world, and just because you are friends with someone on Facebook doesn’t mean you know them.

Gamers or people who live their lives around video games also can take the use of technology to an extreme.

Even though the new graphics and up-to-date video games seem extremely realistic, they are far from reality.

It’s fine to play a video game every now and then, but when video games become a way of life and you get upset because someone beat your high score, it becomes sad.

You are playing a fake game with a controller, and it’s not real life.

We need to go back to the simpler things in life: family, friends and enjoying each other without an iPhone or email.

It’s good for the soul to get away, power everything down and find out what really is important in life.

It could be as simple as taking your dog for a walk or eating a meal with friends and family.

The way I get away is going fishing. There is nothing out there but me, the lake, a friend and an occasional fish.

It’s amazing the problems you can work out in your head when technology isn’t feeding it.

Technology is great when used in moderation, but don’t let it control your life.

 

Published: Wednesday, November 03, 2011

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