by Anna Bauman

I was sitting in a free with my friends when I noticed all of us were on our phones. Browsing Twitter, texting, checking Instagram, Snapchatting, and in general, doing pretty much everything besides talking to each other.

Since when have our phones become more important than our actual friends? Sure, our smartphones contain thousands of “friends,” along with their constant photos, statuses, and updates, only a click away. With this constant stream of updates, teenagers often feel the need to be connected to social media through their phones at all times, even if it means being on your phone when you know you probably shouldn’t be.

But genuine interaction with real people is far more important to our real social lives than the hundreds of disconnected, mediated interactions we conduct on a tiny two-dimensional screen every day.

Many people today have probably experienced a similar situation in which they, or those around them, were on their phones instead of enjoying the moment. This is particularly evident in large crowds, such as at concerts, sporting events, and even school dances, during which you can look around and find many people fixated on their phones. Missed the touchdown because you were texting someone about the previous play? Just look it up on your phone later! Were you too busy uploading your cute Instagram that you missed the band’s great performance? Have a friend send you the video!

Constant access to our phones has led us to be disconnected from real life. Instead of connecting with the people around us in the moment, we have become more interested, and even a little obsessed, with the interactions on our phones.

Smartphones are an amazing technological advancement that also have many advantages and positive aspects. They make our lives easier by giving us the option of instant communication with anyone we want and provide a world of information available at the tip of our fingers. We can capture a moment with just the click of a button and share it for the world to see. The constant status updates from Twitter and Facebook, new Instagram posts, Snapchats and texts that flood our phone during the day leaves us feeling connected to a vast network of friends.

But this connection is not always what it appears to be; in reality, it can disconnect us from the present when we choose to live through our phones instead of living in the moment.

So next time you pull out your phone to text your friend during dinner with your family or in the middle of a conversation, consider slipping it back into your pocket as you enjoy the company of those you are with and give them your full attention. I’m not saying we should never be on our phones, just that there is a time and a place. Once you try relinquishing your constant grip on your phone, you might just find that giving up control and living in the moment is better than you thought it could be.