Phones Over Friends?

When our parents went to concerts, the band on stage played to a sea of lighters or signs lifted above the crowd to get their attention. Now, younger bands play to a different generation. And it’s not the same.

Now, they’re confronted with a sea of camera phones. Today’s crowds have their smartphones thrust in the air, pining for a good angle for a Snapchat video or for a photo of the lead singer to post to Instagram.

As students, we are in the middle of massive changes to the way people communicate and interact with their environment. According to Pew Research Center, 95 percent of teens are online, and 37 percent of us have smartphones. That’s why the Harbinger urges our generation to put down the camera, look up from our messages and experience life the way it’s meant to be lived — not through a screen. Form a relationship with the world, instead of with a glowing 4 inch screen in your hand.

Instead of recording a personal video of your favorite song, settle for the HD-quality music video on YouTube. Instead of pushing other tourists around to get a shot of the Mona Lisa, settle for the million Google Images results. Instead of holding your phone in front of your face at a Sporting KC game to catch what might become a game-winning goal, settle for the highlight reel on ESPN. And experience life in person through your own eyes.

Live music, masterpieces of art, wonders of the world. These are things that existed before the Age of the Smartphone, before we felt the need to share our lives with our followers, before our camera rolls became a substitute for real memories.

So, Millennials, Generation Y-ers, whatever we’re called, please resist the urge. Let’s stop prioritizing documentation over enjoyment. Because if we don’t, in 10 years we’ll find ourselves with nothing to show for our prime years but Facebook albums and Instagram likes.