"Take In Your Surroundings & Make The Most Of Today"

The modern day. 21st century. Where do I even begin? I've been wanting to write this post for a while now as it's something that I feel is quite important but it's taken me some time to be able to condense it down so that it includes everything I want to say without being a really long ramble!

A few weeks ago, my internet went down for pretty much the entire day. When it switched back on again, I mentioned this to someone via text. Their response was "How have you survived with no internet?". It reminded me of just how big a part the internet plays in our day to day life. Without it, the world as we know it probably wouldn't function.

I guess I decided to write this post as a way to make everyone think a little bit about how consumed we can all be with the internet, technology, and social media....

Gosh social media is such a big part of modern day life! Before, everyone would watch TV shows and discuss it with whoever they were watching it with, or perhaps text a few friends about it. Nowadays, Twitter is the place to discuss TV as you can use the relevant hashtag to see what everyone else is saying. I used to always scroll through my Twitter feed whilst watching shows but I now only pick it up if there's something I'm absolutely dying to tweet! That's only when I'm on my own though. When I'm watching TV with others, my phone is strictly off limits.

I have a Twitter account but its main purpose is for my blog and I don't think I'd use it very often it if it wasn't for that. I used to have a personal Facebook account but it suddenly occurred to me how pointless it was for me. People who I'm close to will have my phone number anyway. I'd rather see them in person than have conversations over Facebook. As for those who don't have my phone number, it probably means that we're not very close. I think Facebook is a good way of connecting with friends & family abroad, but since I didn't have anyone on my account that fitted into that category, I finally said goodbye to Facebook. I recently set up a Facebook page for my blog but I have a feeling I might be taking it down pretty soon...

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.... Let's be real here, who cares what someone else had for lunch? Who cares what a great time someone is having abroad? Who cares how someone has just found a spider on the ceiling? How can we possibly enjoy our own lives when we're so consumed with what everyone else is doing with their lives?

During my usual browsing of Youtube, which has become somewhat of an addiction that I should curb, I came across a video called Look Up which was made by a guy named Gary Turk. It's basically a poem about how we're all so attached to the online world and how we should look up from our gadgets and experience the real world. The video went viral and I'll leave the video at the bottom of this post for anyone who hasn't already seen it.

I know that the video did get a bit of criticism because of how he used an online platform (Youtube) to make the video in the first place but what I took from it was that although the online world is great, we shouldn't let our lives revolve around it. There is a whole world out there to be discovered and lots of new people to meet. Technology in general, be it online or offline, can often overwhelm us.

How many times have you uploaded photos of your day out onto Instagram whilst you're still out?

How many times have you lay on your bed scrolling through your Twitter feed at bedtime?

How many times have you missed witnessing something special with your own eyes and being in the moment because you were too busy looking at it through a camera lens?

How many times have you played around on your phone outside because you don't want to look awkward standing on your own?
How many times have you tweeted about what a great time you're having when you could be saving those seconds or minutes to actually have fun?

Don't get me wrong, I think it's super impressive how far technology has advanced and how social media enables our voices to be heard more easily. However, it also enables us to isolate ourselves from the world, and it also gives way to online malice at times whether directed towards someone or otherwise. The amount of times I've scrolled through a hashtag and seen some shocking things is uncountable.

The world is a beautiful place full of wonderful people. I'm all for the simple things in life and sometimes we all just need to take a step back from all these screens that are eyes have become fixated with. I feel like so many people get so consumed with what's happening online that they forget about what is physically happening around them.

Even offline technology can get the better of us. People spend so much time typing that they forget how to write neatly. People are able to easily use spellcheck on a computer that they no longer have to focus on improving their spelling.

So switch off those gadgets, step away from the TV, and bring life back to basics once in a while. I sometimes like to pretend that there's a powercut (which is completely normal of me...) and do things that don't revolve around anything that needs to be powered by electricity or that needs to be charged.

As someone who blogs, technology can sometimes consume me and I thought that this may resonate with some of you lot too who are reading this. I love blogging but nowadays I set aside a few days a week to read & write posts so that I'm not constantly on here every day. I also love the Look Up video and I've been emailing it to anyone who will watch! I'm thankful that technology allows me to write this blog but now I'm going to switch off and head outside to enjoy the sunshine! 

Technology can be great, but what's even better is being in the present and embracing real life. 

I'd love to know what you all think so please do leave your comments below!
Have a great weekend!