I Challenge You!

The more and more cell phone commercials I see, the more appalled I am.  Almost all of these commercials show people walking around in public with the face in their phone.  They advertise how fast the service is and how much better connected you will be.  All I see is a bunch of people so disconnected from the actual world they are living in that they escape into the world of their phone.  Another commercial shows a girl taking a picture at a concert and then spending time zooming and panning to find the image she likes before sending it to all of her friends.  So basically, she is more concerned about sending a cool picture of the concert to all her friends than actually enjoying the concert that she is attending!  The sad thing, though, is that these commercials are rooted in reality.  I see this in real life all the time.  Walking around the campus of the university I work at, people are constantly on their phones and it's a wonder more of them don't run into walls, trees, or other people.

So here's my challenge to you.  Try to spend a day where you only use your phone as needed.  Wait until you get home to check your messages or go on Facebook or Twitter.  When out in public instead of looking at your phone as you walk, try paying attention to what's going on around you.  Make an effort to notice at least five things that you've never noticed before.  If you see something cool that you want to take a picture of, resist the urge.  Instead, talk to someone about it and try to describe it in your own words.  Think of it as a way to work on improving your creativity.  Basically, I'm challenging you to reconnect with the physical world and disconnect with the virtual world, if only for a day.  Who knows, you might end up liking it.