Yesterday evening, our family was out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant grabbing a bite to eat. I noticed a cute little picture of a table next to us - it was pretty evident that it was a Grandmother and Grandson spending some quality time together eating dinner. As our meal progressed, and Ashley slipped off to the bathroom, as is usual custom to feed our 7 month old son, I began to notice the scene at the Grandmother/Grandson table in a little more detail. I noticed that they were not talking. The grandmother was eating quietly, and the grandson was... are you ready for this??? TEXTING... was I surprised? No, not at all. I've worked with teens long enough to know that texting their friends is something that comes as a no-brainer/must do for a teen with a cell phone today.
The scene that was being played out just made me a little sad though. No personal interaction. No conversation. An occasional short phrased question with a quick one to two word answer... The grandmother continued to eat in silence, and the grandson would give a brief smile and text a response between burrito bites each time his phone would sound the new message alarm.
I love technology, and use it. Texting, twittering, facebooking, etc... But seeing true personal interaction take a backseat to a cell phone really made me want to rethink my communication. It made the desire to display the details of my life on the web, and stay "connected" dry up pretty quick.
No matter how small technology makes the world, and how "connected" it makes the world... it can't replace the personal, raw emotion, and meaning of true face to face conversation. The teen at the table, it seemed, hardly knew how to act with out a phone in his hand...
What really hit home was remembering something that happened the other day when I was at home with my daughter. We were playing in her play room, and I of course, being the "connected" youth pastor that I am, had my phone with me. I received a text and continued to respond to it. That in turn became a series of texts, a quick check of email and a check of twitter updates... Ava, sat patiently, and when I was done, said "Daddy, put your phone down...play with me..." That hit hard. I don't want my daughter to feel like she has to play second fiddle to Daddy's phone because he's a "connected" youth pastor. I don't want my daughter to have to try to play with a Daddy that has his attention split between his little girl and his mobile device.
Constant connection won't be my disconnection from family, friends, and
real life in general.
Just some food for thought.
