By: Adrian Konstantinov
Ironically, an AI image of complete absorption — a stark reminder of our screen-bound reality and the grip technology has on our lives.
Eat. Shit. Watch. Sleep. Repeat.
During the last 25 years, I’ve never known a time when you couldn’t log on. Growing up in a world saturated by technology, phones and the Internet have been a part of my life since the day I was old enough to babble the word “AppleCare”. But the strange thing is, despite the constant buzz of notifications and the easy access to devices, I often feel like society is becoming more disconnected than ever. It feels like a paradox — the more technology allows us to be in contact with others, the more silence there actually is.
The silence I’m talking about lives all around us. It's the kind of silence that happens when you're sitting across from someone at dinner, but both of you are too absorbed in your screens to even make eye contact. It's like you’re together, but not really. It’s not that you don’t want to be present, but it feels like the pull of technology has become too strong to resist — indeed, this is precisely the frailty that online consumption conglomerates capitalize on. Whatever dopamine hit received from the screen far outweighs a smile from your partner, a laugh from your friend. We live in this constant state of partial attention, always keeping one foot in the real world and the other in the virtual one. I’ve felt this pull as well — going on Twitter or Youtube while waiting for the metro, sitting on the toilet, or even when walking from one place to another. Headphones in, video playing, thumb scrolling. Over the last few months I’ve tried to recognize this temptation and consciously focus on something in the world around me instead, but the gravitational pull of the box in my pocket is too hard to resist at times.
Personally, I feel that scrolling on a phone is incredibly tempting because it offers instant gratification with minimal effort. There’s always something new to see, and due to its infinite state, you’re never finished catching up. A “quick fix” for discomfort, the convenience of having the world at our fingertips makes it easy to escape boredom and help our brains feel at ease during times of stress. Instead of talking through my issues with a friend or partner (hard), why don’t I just sit on the toilet and watch 5 second clips of Clash Royale content (easy).
There’s this odd sense of isolation that comes with always being online. Even though we can reach out to someone anytime we want, I believe the ability to constantly communicate has made our interactions less meaningful. Why bother having a deep conversation now when we can just send a quick text later? Why truly engage in the present moment when there’s always a distraction waiting on our phones? It feels like the presence of technology has diluted the need to be fully engaged with the world around us, to sit in the moment, and really feel connected, because it’s less vulnerable, less time-consuming, less unproductive.
It’s easy to hand your kid a tablet or pull out your phone at dinner to keep them quiet or entertain yourself, but that short-term convenience comes at a cost. When we rely on screens to fill moments of discomfort or silence, we lose the opportunity to engage with each other, to have real conversations, and to teach kids the value of face-to-face interaction. Over time, this habit erodes our ability to socialize meaningfully, making it harder to connect in the long term. We become dependent on distractions instead of building the skills to navigate awkward moments, hold conversations, or simply enjoy each other’s presence — or our own.
I’m not sure if I have a solution for this phenomenon, but I do feel like one is needed. One way that I often pull myself away from my phone is by picturing myself as a person from the opening scene of WALL-E — an eat-shit-watch-sleep-repeat object born to watch the flickering lights of the screen in front of them until death. Eat. Shit. Watch. Sleep. Repeat. Where’s the quality of life in that?
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