Look Up… Look OUT!

Yesterday I came out of work and noticed (not for the first time) how most of the people walking around the campus were walking and staring at their phones.  Here it was a beautiful day – nice temps, green grass, and so on.  Lots of things to enjoy but all these people were doing was staring at their electronics.

It astounds me how oblivious people can be to their surroundings.  I watched as people streamed from one building to the next, most their heads bowed as though praying.  Unfortunately, they were praying to their electronics.  One after another oblivious to who was near them, where they walked, and what they were missing.

I’m not going to claim I’m not oblivious.  I can be and often am oblivious to all that isn’t going on inside my head or even in my immediate environment.  But watching these people be zombie like (yes I went there) as they walked around campus made me want to drop something LOUD to see if they would look up, stop, or be distracted from their phones.

I’ve only had a smart phone for a year.  I know I’m over involved in it.  I read books on it, take notes on it, play games on it, look at email on it, and a variety of other tasks.  I also pay too much attention to it.  However, if I ever get as bad as the people I saw yesterday, I hope someone smacks me hard on the head.