Disconnected and distraught

By Laci Sutton / Opinion Page Editor

Oct. 6, 2021 is a day that will go down in history. It was on this day that the world came to a near end, almost as close as we came in 2012.

That’s right folks. Oct. 6, 2021 is the day that three popular social media platforms  – Facebook, and Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp – collapsed … for a few hours.

Shocking, I know. Try not to get too emotional over the memories. It was a tough day, but we made it.

Of course I’m kidding, but the fact that this made international news blows my mind.

We are a generation so fully dependent on our mobile devices that when a couple of apps crash, our lives go haywire. We don’t know what to do with ourselves anymore.

I can’t mindlessly scroll Facebook for a few hours? I can’t check the likes on my latest Instagram post?

This is a tragedy. Someone alert the authorities!

There are nearly 2 million apps on the Apple app store right now. Three out of two million, and the universe might as well have collapsed.

It’s so sad to me that we are so attached to our devices. I understand we’ve been in a global pandemic for over a year. We’ve had no choice but to depend on social media to connect with loved ones in order to keep ourselves safe.
But where do we draw the line?

I see it every day working in a pharmacy, and it’s so frustrating. A customer will be standing in line waiting to pick up their medication and be so focused on their phone that they don’t see it’s their turn.

I’ve even had customers sitting at the drive-thru window, giving me the hand, making me wait for them to finish their phone call before I can get their medication and help the other six people in line behind them.

Our time clock is on the opposite side of the store from the pharmacy. On my walk from clocking in or going to clock-out I nearly get ran over by someone pushing a cart because they’re so engulfed with whatever is on their phone.

I’m not going to try and pretend I’m not guilty of this, because I definitely am. It’s something I’m trying to be better about, and you should too.

Put the devices away. Spend some time with your family. Visit a friend.

Go to a football game, go for a walk, or maybe pick up a copy of your favorite student publication.

Do something that doesn’t involve a “like” or a comment section. Look up and see the beautiful world around you.

Laci Sutton is the Collegian’s Opinion Page Editor. She is a Nickerson senior studying nursing.

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