Funny isn’t it?

How a device that fits into our hand can be our whole world?

Absolutely ridiculous if you ask me but I was amongst the many that acted like it was. My phone was attached to me like I needed it to survive.

These devices don’t hold much value. They don’t have emotions, can’t have a conversation with you and kill relationships a lot of the time. Sure, you can call and send a text within seconds but because of this, I think we lack true communication in this generation. We would rather confront someone with a few sentences through iMessage than we would face to face.

Social media is another downfall of having these cell phones. In society today, everyone feels the need to show off their best body, relationships, money and so much more. In my opinion, this lowers others self esteem and confidence because everyone is competing to be the best online. One can lie, cheat and hurt many people by just posting a simple picture with a sarcastic caption. We have lost the true value of being genuine and have searched for power instead. There are now more people that build relationships through their cell phones than there have ever been. More people care about the amount of likes on a picture they just posted than being liked in person.

Sadly, I was just like every single person I am describing above. I was able to open my eyes after “putting down” my phone for about a week.

Long story short, I dropped my phone in the toilet. Typical thing to do right? But man, did I find myself panicking to find a bowl of rice just so I could burry my phone in it in hopes that it would dry out over night.

Well that didn’t happen.

At first, I felt overwhelmingly unsettle without my phone in my hand or pocket at all times. I was worried about what I was missing on my social media and hated that I couldn’t know what everyone was doing at all times of the day. It made me feel powerless and truly made me understand why control seems to be a character quality of many people I know. Since I haven’t had a device in my hand for the last week or so, I have felt happier, less rushed, more in touch with myself, less concerned about what everyone else is doing and more confident. My relationship has been better than in was in the previous weeks and I am more focused on things that ACTUALLY matter in life, not some girls Instagram picture.

I would challenge everyone to put their phones down and get off social media for at least a few days. I promise that your outlook will change. We need to be more concerned with peoples actual feelings and how to communicate correctly instead of through a Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, etc. We need to understand the difference of using our devices that benefit us rather than make us compare our lives to everyone else.

All I can say is that I am HAPPY that I dropped my phone in the toilet (as weird as that sounds), I wouldn’t have truly understood what I was focused on if it didn’t happen. I wish I didn’t have to buy another one BUT I am glad I was able to take a step back and look at the sad reality of this generation. It couldn’t have been at a better time and I am excited to keep exploring life outside of my phone.

So how many “likes” can I give you to take a break from your phone?

Mikaila Jegtvig

Mikaila grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and is working towards completing her last year in school. She loves sports, the outdoors, books and the gym. Since she was young, she has enjoyed writing in journals but never thought to make a dream out of it. In the past few years, she has created her own blog and has seen some small success. Mikaila plans to share her writing with others while building the courage to make a career out of it.