We all are involved with some type of social media…I don’t know one person who isn’t. It’s great to participate in this incredible outreach of communication, but does it affect our lives? Yes! It does. We have become addicted to our cell phones today. In a way, we feel we are missing out on what’s going on on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc if we are not constantly connected.
I was in a restaurant a few weeks ago and EVERY single person was on their phone, even those who weren’t eating alone… even couples. I saw a good looking married couple who never even looked at one another during their entire meal! I didn’t realize how much I was on my phone until I started watching everyone else tapping into social media.
So my wife and I came up with 2 rules:
1. We can only be on our phones from 11am-5pm every day. No acceptions.
2. We are NOT allowed to view our phones during meals. We sit down “as a family” and we communicate “as a family”.
My wife Giovanna and I felt this would show our children how improper it is to dabble into your phone or IPad during a family meal. I agree 1,000 percent.
Social media is supposed to connect us, but I’ve found that we’re more disconnected than ever. If we continue on this path, Within 3 years NOBODY will communicate face to face. They will text or email one another, even if they’re sitting across from each other! It’s a losing battle. The only way we can save “family communication” is by making rules on when to use and not to use our devices. It seems to be working for our family so far. So, if you feel the same way that I do, you may want to draw a line and demand that your family saves the one thing that keeps a family together….. COMMUNICATION. Not by text, not by instant message, but face to face. I promise that if you do this, your family will be much closer and more loving. Oh, it’s true. It’s damn true!!!
