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Living in the Moment with My Phone
Why this millennial can be on her phone and not miss out on life.
I recently read another article where an older person was surprised by the importance her adult daughter placed on her phone. While the article was somewhat reflective, talking about how they understood that digital existence is important and our phones are a centralized place for it, it still ended on a note of not understanding why the daughter might want a pre-surgery photo taken to share with the internet.
I get it; I really do. For people who grew up with photographs being a comparative scarcity, the desire to document and share all kinds of things represents a big change in perspective. That’s not what bugs me. What bugs me is when it’s presented as a moral failing to regularly use your phone to document your life, keep in touch with people not there physically, or mentally check out of your current situation.
When an older generation talks about us young(ish) ones spending so much time on our phones, I've realized that they perhaps don’t realize how reflexive it is. I can whip off a quick text in thirty seconds. When I take photos of something, I really only need a minute to get a good shot for Instagram. Suppose I want to check a fact or share a quick meme that takes no more than a couple of minutes, depending. It’s…
