life ruiners?

First off, I think I should define what a 'life ruiner' is. I use this phrase often. In my mind, a 'life ruiner' is something or someone that takes control over your life and pulls away from the freedom you have. It takes up time, effort, energy and pulls you away from the things and people that are the most important. I will use it in a sentence..."Annie, you spend 3 hours a day on Facebook - I swear that thing is a life ruiner!" Now, it is a life ruiner because Annie could be doing much more fun and exciting things with her day during the summer instead of spending it on Facebook.

With that being said, I believe that cell phones can be life ruiners - that is, if you allow them to be. In our society, we let our cell phones take over our lives. I will admit, I am one of those 'keep your cell phone glued to your hand to make sure that you do not miss a call, email, text or bbm' types. My question is when and how did we reach that place? When did it become necessary to always be able to contact others or to be contacted?

In one sense, I understand completely. Cell phones can provide a sense of security. I know that my parents love that I have a cell phone because it means that I can be reached at any time of the day or night and vice versa. I know the world today is changing and you will often hear parents say that it is just 'not the same or as safe' as when they were growing up. Even so, it makes you wonder how they functioned in the 60s, 70s, and 80s without having cell phones glued to their hand, pocket or the inside of their bags.

This is where cell phones become life ruiners. People much rather just contact someone on their cell phone to communicate even when it is not necessary. Example: 3 days ago, my mother text messaged me. She was in her bedroom, I was in my own room. Now, I may have given her the benefit of the doubt if she was injured or sick - she wasn't. Maybe I would be understanding if we had a two story house and she had had a long day - not the case. I live in a basic 3 bedroom, 2 bath, one story house. When did we become so lazy and reliant on technology that we cannot even walk from room to room in a house to talk to the person face to face.

Another case of this is handling messy situations. I have noticed that as I get older, people seem to have weaker and weaker communication skills. They struggle to form sentences when confronted with an issue face to face. This is because people use technology in sticky situations to avoid the sometimes awkward face to face confrontation. I think it is a cop out to text message someone saying that you won't be able to attend a dinner date or to bbm a partner to say that you do not think it is working out. Because of this, I think that cell phones are life ruiners, especially if you allow them to be your primary way of communication when it does not have to be.