How many times do you check your phone? How often do you update Facebook? How many tweets have tweeted? How many photos have you posted? How many snapchats have you sent? How many vines have you videoed?
As a communications specialist at the Ranch I constantly have my eyes on a screen. I have Facebook pulled up, Youtube favoured, Twitter updating, and my email dinging. I engage in conversation all day, sometimes without saying a word.
Our world has become consumed by technology and the applications we’ve created. We no longer take the time to make a phone call or pop by for a visit; we send an email or shoot a text. The viral video “Look Up” captures this trend in a poetic five minute reality check.
We’re ignoring the world around us for the one inside our phones, computers, and televisions.
The Ranch limits the availability of these technologies to the youth; television is often reserved for movie night, computers are used for homework, and cell phones are pretty much non-existent.
We do this so that youth can develop communication skills, learn how to form healthy relationships, and create interpersonal skills which are integral to personal development, growth, and success.
The youth are encouraged to engage with the world around them. They learn how to share their feelings and how to express themselves in ways that do not involve emoticons or 121 characters or less.
Maybe we should take a lesson and follow suit.
Wouldn’t it be kind of refreshing to be asked how your day was without someone friending you or following you?
