Being a human

Technology never ceases to amaze me. One click of a button and you could be staring at a live video of somebody in a different timezone, in a completely different part of the world. In just a few minutes you could make a plan with 6 of your friends; organise a time, place and date whilst all of you are sitting in different houses doing different things. You could suddenly remember you forgot to buy a present for someone you are due to meet the following evening and Amazon will save the day by delivering a gift the very next morning. You get the idea.

Recently I was feeling a bit low and I just wanted to shut myself out from my phone, the internet, my 'cyber life'. It was only when I found myself asking the question 'what am I going to do instead?' that I realised how crazy the world is. I forget that there is a whole life away from my phone and away from my computer. It suddenly dawned on me how much time I spend watching other people live their lives; whether it's watching YouTube Vloggers or refreshing my Instagram and Facebook newsfeeds. I wonder how many hours of my life I've wasted doing just that, when I could be doing something far more valuable with my time? Like focusing on self development; learning new skills, looking after myself, getting more organised. I think we live in an age where the majority of people we know have some sort of social anxiety, lack of confidence and mild depression and I would say we have technology and social media to blame for that, or at least the amount of time we allow ourselves to spend using them.

I'm not saying I'm going to join a cult, practice a new religion and stop using electrical devices altogether, but I think this realisation has made me more aware of how valuable time is and how important it is to step away from my phone from time to time.

Technology is so advanced and we depend on it. We live from it, we work from it, we have a whole life story of photos somewhere in the cloud and I think we need to remind ourselves occasionally that we are humans. We are not robots. So after I've written this blog post I'm going to continue doing what I have done for the past 4 days and put down my phone, pick up a book, make myself a cup of tea and enjoy not worrying about emails, Instagram and Facebook feeds or who's talking to me on WhatsApp and have a well deserved relaxed evening.

Mel x

SOCIAL MEDIA - THE DEVIL IN DISGUISE

Has anybody else noticed how we don't miss people unless we fell out with them for a good reason? I've had a couple of friends go travelling for a few months in the past and I didn't miss them at all. This isn't a bad thing, as I still spoke to them every day. I could see the photos they posted on Facebook and Instagram. Social media kept us connected, but do you know what? I hate that. I hate that we don't have to make an effort to meet up with people any more. Social media is the reason that coffee shops and bars are struggling financially.

One of my best friend's Bex I speak to every day, but we can go months without actually meeting up with each other. The reason why is because that's cheaper than going for an overpriced glass of wine or coffee. Prices are shooting up everywhere, because these places are having to compete with the internet.

Mobile phone companies killed the coffee shops. Internet is killing the mobile phone service providers. It's the evolution of the internet. But where is it going? Are we going to have virtual friends? Will we stop leaving the house and just work from home? Buy our weeks food shopping online and have it delivered to our door? Talk to our family and friends via instant messaging from our sofas? We're becoming robots and it's terrifying. 

Don't get me wrong. The internet does bring people together and keep us connected. My aunt was adopted at a young age and through Facebook she's been able to find her family and has spent the past three Christmas' with them. I have friends who have found love on the internet and some have even married because of it. But is the internet taking away our confidence?

Gone are the days where you would be asked for your number in a bar. Now, a guy would just ask for your name, go home, search for you on Facebook and then maybe ask you out. People are starting to use their computer screens as a shield. 

We need to remember that we aren't machines, we are humans. Whilst it's great chatting to your friends on Facebook and Whatsapp (and I do it too) make sure you meet up with them regularly too. If someone takes your fancy when you're at the pub, buy them a drink there and then. If you've spoken to your mum every day on the phone, make sure you still visit her at the weekend. If you watch all your films and TV on Netflix, still make the effort to get the gang together and go to see a film at the cinema. 

Let's not let the internet and our computers destroy us. I hate to sound like a complete hippy, but we're letting that happen. 

Thanks for reading!

Mel x