By Lizzy Carter
I couldn’t help but notice..
Everyone is looking down. At restaurants, at red lights, in line at a cafe, even on dates! Those first, flirty, nervous ones where eye contact is supposed to matter. We reach for our phones like a comfort blanket, like it’s some reflex we forgot we had. And lately, I’ve been wondering:
What is it doing to us?
What are we missing in the name of staying connected?
Our Tiny.. Not so Tiny Addiction
I touch my phone like it’s a nervous tick. Waiting at the grocery store? Scroll. Commercial break? Scroll. Sitting with a thought that feels uncomfortable? Scroll.
It’s not always dramatic. Most of the time, it’s subtle. A swipe here, a tap there, but eventually I started noticing how many of my quietest moments have been replaced with noise. Through feeds, notifications, distractions disguised as connection.
Sometimes I wonder: What would I hear if I just sat still with myself instead?
Are We Avoiding Life?
We take photos of sunsets instead of watching them. We record concerts and firework shows we’ll never rewatch. We refresh texts that haven’t come, scroll through curated versions of lives we don’t even want, and miss the one we’re actually living.
We call it connection, but I’ve never felt more disconnected from the world around me than when I’m deep in my screen.
What are we not saying to each other because our heads are down?
Who are we not becoming because our thoughts never get to finish forming?
When did being unreachable become anxiety inducing instead of freeing?
Ideas I’m Playing With
I don’t have a solution. But I’m starting to ask different questions:
What would happen if I left my phone at home during a walk? What if I made eye contact with the strangers I pass? Maybe swung a smile their way? What if I deleted the apps that make me feel like I’m always behind? Or turned off my notifications? What if I gave my real life the attention I give to other people’s highlight reels?
And maybe the most radical one:
What if I let myself be bored?
Because I miss being bored. I miss staring out the window and not needing to optimize the moment. I miss daydreaming, and curating my imagination, and I miss knowing what my thoughts sound like before the internet tells me how to feel.
I’m Not Anti-Phone. I’m Just… Curious.
Here’s the thing. I actually think phones are brilliant tools. They’ve made it easier to stay in touch, to learn, to create, to build businesses, to find love, to map your way home, to hear your mom’s voice when you need it most. They’re incredible when we use them with intention.
But I’m not sure that’s how we’re using them anymore.
They’ve become more like life rafts than tools. Something we grab onto when we’re anxious, bored, insecure, lonely, or overstimulated. We don’t use our phones to do something…. we use them to escape. And maybe that’s what’s really worth noticing.
So if you’re reading this on your phone, maybe this is your reminder.
To take a breath.
To look around.
To put it down, even for just for a minute.
Maybe someone you love is sitting across from you.
Maybe the light outside just got golden.
Maybe the version of you you’ve been trying to become… is already here.
Waiting to be noticed.
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