Tehcnology… its a wonder isn’t it? Connecting people people on a daily basis that are miles away or right next door, with out ever leaving the comfort of your home. But technology doesn’t always cut it, in fact, it can never compare to the wonder of making memories face to face with the people we love.
The birth of a friends baby.
The loss of a blogging friend’s son.
My husband being sick.
A good friend’s new son through adoption.
Missing my family.
Tragedy and Miracles all around.
All things that remind me how fleeting life is… How precious memories are… The importance of time spent face to face.
When I watched this video shared by a friend, I was once again convicted about how much time I spend online/on my phone. I’ve admitted before, that I have a smart phone addiction… its rarely out of my hands… its something I constantly struggle with. Its easy to get into bad habits with my husband on the road 5-6 days of the week. Constantly checking twitter, facebook, instagram via my phone when he’s on the road carries over into the days Hubby is actually home.
This summer I want to change that. I want to be purposeful about making memories with my loved ones. I want to get off the computer and off the phone! I want to have ideas and plans in place for quality time with my hubby. Plans that will get us off the couch and out into the sun. I want to do things together and make memories that will last a life time.
I’ll be honest, I’m not going to give up my phone or computer time entirely. I love blogging. I love checking in with friends on twitter and instagram. I love feeling like I know a little of whats going on in my friends lives. I love being able to share parts of my life too. I am planning on cutting back a bit, especially on the days that the Hubs is home! I want our quality to be full of actual QUALITY!
So please, do all those you love a favor. Put down the phone, get off the ipad, step away from the computer and give them your love and undivided attention! Who knows what kind of memories and connections you’ll make!
For the majority of my daily life, I'm on a computer, but I have a rule that when family or friends are with me, I'm with them. It has never been a problem to turn things off and reconnect, so I happily endorse this!
Great post and a great reminder. I really want to work on just putting the phone away and shutting off technology at least for an hour a night so we can have family time together.
Balance, it's a struggle for me, too! That video is a great reminder to be more intentional with my time.
I love that video, it was so well done! It spoke to me as well, especially after moving across country! I was always missing what I left behind so I was on the phone trying to keep up but I realize that I need to bloom where I am planted and take notice of what is around me to feel at home here.
I try to remember this. My boyfriend is do patient though & the rest of my family too. I love my phone, I love blogging & connecting too. I wish you the best of luck, I’ll be going offline tonight,
I am guilty of spending way too much time on my phone and I always say it's because I want to share my experiences on Instagram or FB, but I need to cut back I think.
I wrote a post a few weeks ago about staying connected despite today's technology – we're so connected all the time but are we really connected to those around us – the ones that really matter? Definitely a message worth getting out there! Great job!
I saw this video earlier in the week and thought what a shame our society has come to this. I HATE going out to eat with friends that are constantly looking down! Thankfully, I'm a techno-phobe and can barely text much less use social media on my phone. My inadequacies have taken care of this problem for me! Thanks for sharing and the reminder Jennifer!
I'm online a lot for blogging and sponsored posts, but this summer i want to back up and slow down and enjoy the time with my kids!
My favorite way to push myself away from the screen is to venture out to places without cell service. Hubs and I spent a weekend in the mountains a few weeks ago, and while we had service in our cabin, we looked for a great place to hike where we wouldn't be tempted to check our phones. It was weird at first (being off the grid for hours) but then it was kind of amazing. We talked more in those few hours than we get to sometimes in a whole weekend at home.
This resonates so true! I am always online with the blogosphere and I need to find ways to connect more in real life
I can relate to being online most of the time, and I too think that we need more face-to-face interactions and quality tie with friends and family. Yet this fo rme is particularly hard as I'm autistic and struggle to mcomunicate offline.
What a moving video! I don't consider myself technology reliant but it wouldn't hurt for me to spend less time on the computer. I think social interaction is no longer the norm and people are hurting from it. There's more to life than electronics.
I've seen that video all over the place. It's kind of funny because even though I'm a blogger, I tend to take less pics and stuff while I'm out with friends and family than my friends do. Lol. It seems like every where I look, people are wanting to take a selfie or pause a moment to grab pics or tweet or fb something and I'm always like "Hey! Let's wait until after we're done to make a status! Or let's stop taking pics and actually do blah blah blah" I do still get on my phone while waiting for food at a restaurant though instead of conversing with the ppl I'm with and I'm trying to break that habit.
It's hard! I always get a tiny bit jealous of people who give Facebook up for lent. Like, my whole business is online with blogging and sometimes that includes Facebook! but I noticed that when I go home, I usually get a detox because I just sit there on the couch with my family, laptop on my lap, but I don't use it half the time.
Such a great reminder. I watched that video a few days again and felt like someone slapped me across the face with a frozen trout. 'Tis time to be more intentional and put away my phone, for sure.
I love this! In January 2013, I stopping blogging on the weekends. Last May, I decided to completely disconnect from social media on weekends, too. Tech free is awesome. It allowed me to focus on my family – and myself. I still don't blog on weekends – and the only social media I use is Instagram (because, well – it's Instagram!).
As bloggers, our business is online – it's hard to separate the time we're online for work vs. personal use. Letting it go on the weekends both personally and professionally has been great for me!