The Shailesh-tival

I’m going to spend this blog entry complaining about something that’s really been bothering me lately.

Go to a bar or a restaurant on a typical Friday night and you’ll notice a new trend that’s starting to take hold. You’ll see groups of people sitting together, but each buried in their own mobile devices, barely paying attention to the people they’re with because they’re so busy engaging with people who aren’t actually there.

Here’s a list of things they’re doing:

– Texting all of their friends who aren’t there to tell them how much “fun” they’re having
– Updating their facebook status so all their acquaintances know how much “fun” their having
– Taking way too many pictures to document all the “fun” their having.

To be even more fair, I’ll even openly admit that I’ve been the very person I’m complaining about and I usually wake up the next morning wondering why the evening sucked so much in hindsight.

Its really quite depressing. People will sit at their table and spend more time talking to people who aren’t there than they will with the people who are sitting right across from them. Just to be fair, I was out last night, and here was the extent of my conversations with friends I wasn’t out with:

– Trevor texted me to tell me he was drinking with a guy who knew me. I told him to say hi for me.
– Tom texted me to show me his seats at the White Sox game and asked me if I wanted to come to Chicago in July to see the Sox and the Orioles. I told him to have a good time and passed on the O’s series.
– I checked the Orioles score. They weren’t playing until later.

Just think, it was only ten years or so ago that people had to go out to bars and actually had to bear the brunt of enjoying the company of the people they were out with.

So here’s my challenge to you: Keep the mobile device in your pocket/purse, and try to enjoy the company of the people you’re out with. Start trying to live your life, and stop trying to document how awesome it is.

If you want to spend your evening texting somebody who is not around, do yourself and me a favor, and just stay in. Its much cheaper.

I wish I could take credit for the originality of this, but I’ve read a number of blog entries and internet articles that have made me realize what bugs me so much about this trend. I’m going to share a few links below to (hopefully) talk some sense into you:

David Wygant’s Dating Blog has a take on the subject: http://www.davidwygant.com/blog/stop-texting-a-friend-who-isnt-there/

Ted.com has a podcast on the topic.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/renny_gleeson_on_antisocial_phone_tricks.html

The Onion has a humorous take on the phenomenon:
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/police_slog_through_40_000