Put down your phone and be in the moment

[HydroGuy]

Allow me to share a few quotes about the peril of modern life.

Whoops! Seems I'm off by 100 years.

Thing is, the advent of the smart phone is just a new method of distraction, not a new phenomenon of distraction. People have always been this way. Heck, I have distinct memories of my brother bringing comics to read in line when we went to Disneyland as kids; now he instead reads things on his phone.

Just like Main Street USA is a romanticized notion of a small town main street in the early 20th century, the idea that people used to socialize more with their family and friends before social media is similarly romanticized and nostalgia-laden.

(All quotes found in this XKCD comic)

Thanks for posting these quotes. I was thinking exactly these things and was going to post my thoughts until I saw your post. When I was a kid TV was said to be ruining the family and kids. Today it is is smartphones and FB. Eighty to a hundred years ago it was the new telephone gadget.

Older generations always seem a bit fearful of the new technology of the day and how it will "ruin things" and "break down society". In the end people are people and they adopt the technology to make it work for them and enhance their lives.

 

[jenpace]

I seem to remember someone in this thread repeatedly poking fun at people who find validation in the number of FB friends they have.

You're not the only one.

 

[BayGirl22]

You're not the only one.

Yes, and the same poster later mentioned they haven't even had a FB account or TV for several years. Fact based opinions, obviously.

 

[BuzzBiteyear]

I will admit, I was on my phone this past trip to WDW in December more than I ever have been in the past. With FP+, I was checking/trying to adjust/etc. Also, since I was wearing that Magicband, I didn't want to also wear my watch. After all week of glancing at my wrist for the time, I finally figured it out on our last day and didn't look at it once, so I was getting my phone out just to check the time. Hey Disney, please add a cheap digital watch to these, or one of those things you can put on your MB (also would be nice to have alerts when a FP+) was coming up. I did use my phone also for Lines apps, and also for pictures as I don't use a regular camera anymore.

Oh, and I did have to let people back home know it was 60-80 degrees and I was wearing shorts, while they were shoveling snow in 10 layers of clothes. But I only did that hourly, haha.

 

[momrek06]

I will admit, I was on my phone this past trip to WDW in December more than I ever have been in the past. With FP+, I was checking/trying to adjust/etc. Also, since I was wearing that Magicband, I didn't want to also wear my watch. After all week of glancing at my wrist for the time, I finally figured it out on our last day and didn't look at it once, so I was getting my phone out just to check the time. Hey Disney, please add a cheap digital watch to these, or one of those things you can put on your MB (also would be nice to have alerts when a FP+) was coming up. I did use my phone also for Lines apps, and also for pictures as I don't use a regular camera anymore.

Oh, and I did have to let people back home know it was 60-80 degrees and I was wearing shorts, while they were shoveling snow in 10 layers of clothes. But I only did that hourly, haha.

 

[Xenorye]

Personally, I'm lumping this into the "ALL PARENTS WHO LET THEIR x y/o KID RIDE IN A STROLLER ARE BAD PARENTS" category.

While you are enjoying your family time, why are you spending time looking around and noticing other people at meals on their phones?

Just like the stroller (non) 'issue,' where some are upset because strollers get rammed into them without a care, there are bad seeds. In this case, it's those that are paying too much attention to their phones and not their kids who are misbehaving. Not all parents who look at a phone are bad parents and not paying attention to their kids. Not all parents who let their 5 year old ride in a stroller is a bad parent.

 

[FlameGirl]

Seriously. Regardless of what other people do at the parks, if it doesn't have a direct negative impact on your own experience, it's none of anyone else's business. Worry about yourselves and move along. Good lord.

 

[sherilaine]

Seriously. Regardless of what other people do at the parks, if it doesn't have a direct negative impact on your own experience, it's none of anyone else's business. Worry about yourselves and move along. Good lord.

Exactly - judging others can be quite the distraction itself!

 

[jenpace]

Exactly - judging others can be quite the distraction itself!

Or, as it seems, a fascinating hobby for some.

Countdown to the next post about how too many people are listening to music with earbuds...

 

[junmatno]

I "feel heavy sadness" for everyone who thinks it's their obligation to monitor other people and their activities, then log onto the internet to write an essay on a message board all about it. While at DL we all enjoy our time differently because, you know, we're all different and have different circumstances that you might even be unaware of in spite of your focused observational skill set. If ever there was a "get a life" scenario, this would be one.

Thank you JenPace! Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[DisneyBiskit]

Drama!!!!

 

[jenpace]

Thank you JenPace! Couldn't have said it better myself.

Thank YOU

 

[larina]

Add me to the, "if you're so in touch with and connected to your family, why are you worried about everybody else?" crowd, because I just don't get it. I've never taken my precious Disneyland time to sit around a judge the choices others make for their family. I don't care what you eat, how you entertain yourself in line, or how you get to or around the parks, and I won't notice your clothes unless they are so cool they can't be missed (like the Star Wars leggings I saw a woman wearing over Christmas), but certainly not how thick or thin the material is over your rump. Really, it takes a small mind to judge others, and a big heart to remember to only judge one's self.

 

[nannyz]

It seems to me that some of the responses to this thread are doing exactly what they are accusing the OP of doing -- being judgmental.

We all have a right to see what is going on around us and to have feelings about what we see.

Should we be judged because we express those feelings?

 

[larina]

It seems to me that some of the responses to this thread are doing exactly what they are accusing the OP of doing -- being judgmental.

We all have a right to see what is going on around us and to have feelings about what we see.

Should we be judged because we express those feelings?

If expressing the feelings can have positive change then that's great, but usually, its people complaining that the actions of others are affecting their good time, and that's on them. As long as folks are loud and rude directly to you (nit a particular you, just a person in general), why do you care how they pass their time?

 

[FlameGirl]

Should we be judged because we express those feelings?

When you choose to lecture a group of grown adults about how they should spend their time at the parks, then you run the risk of being told to mind your own business.

 

[jenpace]

It seems to me that some of the responses to this thread are doing exactly what they are accusing the OP of doing -- being judgmental.

We all have a right to see what is going on around us and to have feelings about what we see.

Should we be judged because we express those feelings?

So it's "expressing feelings" when people talk about complete strangers and disapprove of what those complete strangers are doing? But you are suggesting that those of us who think that's bad form are the ones who are judging? Oookay, if you say so.

I personally think that the way "feelings" were being "expressed" was incredibly rude and judgy....but that's just me, expressing feelings and stuff.

 

[nannyz]

Having read the original post again, I can see how some may see it as being judgmental in itself.
Sorry if I offended anyone.

I see and hear a lot of stuff that I think is wrong, but in my old age I've learned when to keep my mouth shut.
Case in point:
The last time we were at DL, my daughter was 6 months pregnant with twins and very big. We rented a wheelchair for her.
While trying to get out one night after the fireworks, a CM walked in front of her and helped us get through the crowd. A teenager walked around us and said, "Who comes to Disneyland that pregnant?" I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "Who comes to Disneyland that ugly?" That would have been mean, I know, but she really hurt my daughter's feelings.

I wish all of us lovely times at Disneyland.

 

[jenpace]

Having read the original post again, I can see how some may see it as being judgmental in itself.
Sorry if I offended anyone.

I see and hear a lot of stuff that I think is wrong, but in my old age I've learned when to keep my mouth shut.
Case in point:
The last time we were at DL, my daughter was 6 months pregnant with twins and very big. We rented a wheelchair for her.
While trying to get out one night after the fireworks, a CM walked in front of her and helped us get through the crowd. A teenager walked around us and said, "Who comes to Disneyland that pregnant?" I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "Who comes to Disneyland that ugly?" That would have been mean, I know, but she really hurt my daughter's feelings.

I wish all of us lovely times at Disneyland.

Thank you for this, I appreciate you coming back and rereading the OP.

I'm also a twin mom. People think it's a free pass to comment when they see a very (very!) pregnant woman.

 

[Xenorye]

Having read the original post again, I can see how some may see it as being judgmental in itself.
Sorry if I offended anyone.

I see and hear a lot of stuff that I think is wrong, but in my old age I've learned when to keep my mouth shut.
Case in point:
The last time we were at DL, my daughter was 6 months pregnant with twins and very big. We rented a wheelchair for her.
While trying to get out one night after the fireworks, a CM walked in front of her and helped us get through the crowd. A teenager walked around us and said, "Who comes to Disneyland that pregnant?" I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "Who comes to Disneyland that ugly?" That would have been mean, I know, but she really hurt my daughter's feelings.

I wish all of us lovely times at Disneyland.

Sheesh. I'm fairly certain my wife would had to have been restrained.