I am so glad for modern mobile technology. I think it is especially important as many of us older users are using technology more and more. Gone are the days of the little black book. Keeping an address book is now right at our fingertips. And so is our calendar, alarm clock, notebook for shopping lists. No need to remember phone numbers. If we can remember to put something on our calendar it will give us reminders of the upcoming birthdays or events. And we can set personalized ringtones for each person, so we know who to ignore just by their ringtone. And while our brains not being used for remembering phone numbers and birthdays, we are remembering so much new information. And there’s always games to keep us sharp and challenge our brains.

But just like anything too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. So many of us have our faces constantly buried in our devices. I myself can also be guilty of this. I do love to scroll all forms of social media.  While I don’t sleep with my phone I am definitely guilty of occasionally having it in the bathroom. However, I do not use my phone when out with family or friends. I try to keep it to a minimum and actually interact with those around me. This is not always the case in the younger crowd.

I definitely see mobile technology as a benefit to society. In our every changing, busy, lives it is nice to be able to connect and share and even work in any location. Many people are able to operate their own business solely from their phone. And if I could not check on my kids at least once or twice a day I would be even more of a stressed out mom.  I think the main consequence of an on-demand culture is the loss of time. When I realized that I just wasted an hour scrolling, instead of doing all the things I had planned to do it can be very disappointing. Time once gone is something you can never get back.

So while technology can be fun, it can also be very distracting. We all need a good balance. Real human interaction is much more rewarding than simply scrolling our phone.