I have never lived without a cell phone. From the moment I wake up, my phone is within reach. I continually check my social media and text messages throughout the day, and I know that my friends are similar. I actually despise how normal it has become to be engrossed in the applications of my cell phone.
 
My generation is completely obsessed with taking pictures of themselves on Snapchat, and they care mostly about how many likes they get on Instagram. Everyone is always on their phone and their attention is never on the person that they are physically spending time with. Upon reflection, I now realize that having a conversation with my friends, and not constantly being on your phone, is a rare occasion in our lives.
 
A recent experience made me think more deeply about this aspect of my generation. After prom, all of my friends went back to my house. We were so tired that we just sat on the couch recounting the events of the night. This was the only moment that I have experienced with my friends where nobody was on their phone. Not often do people have that chance to interact without cell phones in today’s world.
 
I am not a person who constantly checks her phone, but I rely on it for certain occasions, like communicating with my friends through text messaging. Most often, checking a text message from my friend leads to an alert that I have received a Snapchat, a notification that I have a new message on Instagram, or a banner with a new email message alerting me to a sale at my favorite store. Thirty minutes later, I text my friend back. My generation is losing time to their cell phone alerts.
 
It was much easier for my parents’ generation to converse without phone influence. I sometimes wish I lived my teenage years in the 80’s, when there were no cell phones; phones were attached to the house and were actuallyused to call people.  It is a rare occasion that someone in my generation uses his or her phone to speak live with someone. 
 
My generation’s inability to put down their cell phones is weakening our relationships.  I feel this way because I wish that this generation wasn’t so obsessed with phones. I am obsessed with my phone to the point where it is hard to put down and have a conversation with people. I wish this wasn’t the case. It is hard to live in a world where there is no phone, but it would make relationships so much stronger.