The older generation constantly complain about how millennials are addicted to mobile phones. It’s not an unfounded complaint, as people are using their phones more, even if they are in social situations. There’s a long-running joke about how technology brings us closer to people far away from us, at the price of taking us far away from the people next to us.
But technology’s effect on our social lives can be beneficial, if we know how to use it. Netizen Cathy Sanchez Babao shared a story on Facebook about how she witnessed one such incident.
According to Cathy on her blog, Travels with Myself:
It was one of those uneventful Monday nights when you’re at the mall running errands and suddenly you find yourself hungry. So you hie off to the nearest fast food place to grab a quick bite. And that’s where I saw him as I was standing in line waiting for my order. The sight of him talking to his beloved, perhaps over FaceTime immediately warmed my heart. So took the table next to him and watched, and okay, tried to listen in.
She shared her story on Facebook:
I watched him quietly as he sat across her while eating his dinner. I couldn’t help but overhear. He was fully engaged, laughing at her jokes, and listening intently to her stories. She looked at him as she ate her pancakes and giggled at his jokes. It was a heartwarming sight to behold in the middle of a crowded fast food outlet. Oblivious and insulated from the sounds around him, only her stories and the sound of her voice mattered.
Cathy managed to talk to the guy after their online conversation:
“Ang cute ninyo,” I couldn’t help but tell him as I was about to leave. He grinned from ear to ear. A young man so in love. They shared a meal twice a day, he told me, it was now breakfast in her corner of the world. They had been apart for two years now, and always looked forward to beginning and ending their day with one another. Next year, he would finally be able to follow to where she was.
She also noticed a couple that represents many couples around the world:
Meanwhile, across their table, sat another couple, fully engaged with their phones as they finished their meal. Together, but apart.
Cathy closed her post with the warning, “The blessing and curse of technology can either make you or break you. Choose wisely.”
Do you agree with Cathy? Share your thoughts below!
