It seems that, everywhere you turn nowadays, you are almost guaranteed to see someone on some type of electronic device, most likely a phone. It feels as if that is all people want to do now today, use their phones to do whatever. Texting, game playing, Internet surfing, picture taking, you name it; people constantly have their heads bent, peering at their phones. What happened to the days when we could eat dinner without being tempted to check a text or send a quick Snap chat? It is apparent that it is swerving out of control.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s research, 8-18-year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours per week). What the heck?! Kids are using their technology way too much, and it is obvious that it is starting to affect them and their social behavior. I can’t even tell you how many times I have heard people say, “I’ll text you” or “I’ll Kik you.” What happened to people sitting down and having a conversation? Technology has made it much too easy to talk behind a screen, causing people to use methods like texting instead of having face-to-face conversations.

On top of this, electronic devices affect being social within even one’s own family. Let me tell you about at time when I went to a friend’s house for dinner. As we sat down for dinner, what I saw truly surprised me. My friend was texting, his sister was playing games on the iPad, his father was watching a basketball game on TV, and his mother was chatting away on her cell phone. Meanwhile, I sat there awkwardly eating steak and mashed potatoes, waiting for someone to make an attempt at a face-to-face conversation. I feel like this has become much too common in households all across the U.S. People seem to keep giving up time with family to play around with electronics.

I understand; I am an electronics user myself, and I know that electronics are a big part of our lives and are very fun to use, but we are letting them interfere with our social relationships. While they are cool and useful, I think that people are really overusing these devices now. All I’m saying is, the next time you are at dinner or chilling at a friend’s house, put that phone down and have a regular conversation with someone. You never know– maybe you’ll connect with something other than Wi-Fi for a change.