As I pulled back my bedroom curtains on this grey and dreary February morning, I caught sight of the girl who lives opposite me.
She was perched on the edge of her bed hunched over, transfixed on something in her hands. I could only guess it was a mobile phone.
I’ve seen this girl on several mornings.
Now, please don’t think I stand and stare, I don’t, but this morning I looked for longer than usual. I was fascinated by her posture.
Was it wrong of me to assume she was looking at a mobile phone? Maybe. Perhaps she was reading a book? I couldn’t quite see.
“How does one hold a book?” I thought.
“How does one hold a mobile phone?” I thought.
I even did a practice run with both, grabbing a book and pretending to read it and then again with my phone, perched on the edge of my bed. (What a weirdo!)
I thought about it. The two acts are different.
Firstly, a book is often read with intention. We decide “I am going to read a book.” Sometimes it’s a treat, providing us with some relaxation time. Sometimes it’s education. Either way, we do it with intent. We sit somewhere comfortable to enjoy digesting the words on the paper.
The posture we use between a book and a phone is different.
I think of the people I see on public transport, in fact, everywhere, hunched over their tiny mobile device. Head down, shoulders forward, neck and spine bent uncomfortable and out of place.
Seeing that girl this morning got me thinking. It’s so hard to get away from using a mobile device in this modern world and often I can get swept into a digital world convincing myself it’s for a few minutes of ‘escape and relaxation.’
(The irony of this is that my job is a Social Media Manager).
What are we doing? We are living on the verge of a Black Mirror episode!
Seeing that girl, and peering for longer than usual over the top of my clothes airer (that’s been sitting full of laundry for 4 days!), I thought “I don’t want to be that person.”
I try to lead my life as consciously as possible – making my own decisions, not being influenced by the media and living a healthy, ‘human’ life. (I don’t think I’m doing a great job, to be honest).
But sometimes I’m sucked into a world of social media, advertising and the hustle and bustle of the modern world.
It doesn’t help I work in social media. The irony of that makes me laugh! The only justification I have is that I work with adventure and sports companies promoting the outdoors. But I’m still a cog in that machine….
There was a part of me that was nervous to hit the ‘Publish’ button on this blog because it has little relevance to what I do – it’s not an adventure or a weird and wonderful shot most of you see me ingesting on my Instagram stories (again, the irony!)
The truth is, I’ve wanted to write about the things that whizz around my head for a long time. I find it really useful for me, kind of like a therapy; getting the thoughts out of my head and onto ‘paper’. It provides a bit of clarity.
I would usually write something like this in my Monkey Mind Journal (Morning Pages to most) but this morning I wanted to capture it on here, so I, and maybe others, could reflect on it.
I’d love to know what you think about this mobile extravaganza world we live in.
Do you like it?
How does using your mobile phone make you feel?
Do you have that hunched over posture I saw through the window opposite my house?
Hit me up on Twitter and let me know.
Thank you for reading.