Technology has become such a regular part of our everyday lives that sometimes we have to make a very conscious effort to unplug. So many of the tasks we complete throughout the day have been made easier by our constant access to laptops and smartphones. Often, completing these tasks take significantly longer and require decidedly more brain power without the use of technology, so it makes sense that we, as a species, have adapted to the convenience and ease that technology has provided us.
The creation of social media has had similar effects on our social lives. We have immediate access to all the other people in the world, their thoughts, opinions, and photos of their daily activities.
But there is one area that advancements in technology and social media have taken away from our lives, and that is our ability to be present, in the moment, throughout our day-to-day. The photo below is a perfect artistic reminder of this.
If you only glance at the picture, you may not even notice the one person who doesn’t have her phone out. So accustomed are we to the sight of hundreds of people watching an event, holding their cameras up above each others’ heads to get a better shot, that our eyes almost pass over a person without a phone, as if our brain has been socially trained to see a human without technology in her hand as insignificant.
IMAGE SOURCE: BORED PANDA
But, if you take a longer moment to look at this photo, and to notice the old woman standing in the front, without a phone in hand, peacefully watching the parade, something wonderful will happen. The joy on her face is unmistakable and if you look at it long enough, she seems to emerge from the background, becoming the most important part of the photo, as the only one in the entire crowd who was really, truly, fully present and alive in that moment.
IMAGE SOURCE: BORED PANDA
Seeing such an instance caught on film might be a sobering moment for you. It might make you want to step away from the computer or smartphone you’re holding right now, and go outside, open your eyes and look around. We suggest you give it a try. What happens next, might surprise you.
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