The internet makes us lonely
Last time I thought about it a lot, paid a lot of attention to it, and realized that this is really becoming an enduring part of my life. I'm not gonna talk about how today people are addicted to their phones too much, about how when I ride on the train or the bus, all the people around me sit and look at these small screens like zombies, endlessly scrolling and getting "cheap" satisfaction from social media and short videos, about each of which they're going to forget immediately after they close them. No, I'm not gonna talk about this because everyone already knows it (but for some reason, very few people really talk about it, and even fewer try to do something about it).
I want to talk about how all this technology, and the internet in particular, has made communication in real life really hard. I've noticed more than once that when I talk to someone and it's my turn to say something, this person doesn't even hear what I'm saying. He don't hear because he got a notification on his phone and need to check who wrote him immediately. Or because this person is sitting in front of me, scrolling through an endless feed of short videos on one of the social media platforms.
I understand. The person I'm talking to may be waiting for some important message, or he got a message from a good friend. Yes, in the past people got much less information. To write a message to a friend who lives on the other side of the country or the planet, you had to send the message by mail, and there was no guarantee it would even arrive. And even before that, people sent letters by homing pigeon and there was no certainty those would reach the destination either. But I still understand, because today the world is different, and people expect you to be available 24/7. So maybe this person really needs to answer some important message (although that's usually not the case). But sitting in front of me, having a conversation with me, and then when I'm trying to say something, taking out your phone and starting to scroll? That's what I really don't understand.
I find myself in this situation more and more often. When I'm out walking with someone, he just cannot tear himself away from his phone. As a result, so I wouldn't just walk along in silence, I take out my phone too and this becomes our walk. We just walk silently, and we both scroll through our feeds on our phones.
If you're reading this, I understand that you and I probably can't change the world, but I have one request. When you talk to someone in real life, give more attention to the conversation and less attention to your phone.
The internet gave us the possibility to talk to people on other continents and from all over the planet, but it took away from us the possibility to talk to the person who is right in front of us.