Let me begin first by saying I do have a smartphone and I can’t imagine going back to a 2G one. However, unlike many people I see these days, I am able to tear myself away from it when it’s appropriate to do so.

When I’m in class,  I see more than half of my classmates playing with their smartphones while the lecturer is speaking. I don’t understand why they can’t just put the damn gadget away and just listen to the lecturer. I mean, I find it bloody rude to not respect someone who has taken the time to prepare his/her lesson and is making the effort to explain and teach you new things. Either they are Whatsapping/WeChatting or going on Facebook or Weibo; they have to constantly connected. Why bother coming to class then, I wonder?

These days, you also often see family members, couples, friends and colleagues who eat together are all playing with their phones while seated at the same table instead of engaging in conversation. Parents, instead of engaging with their children and talking to them, are playing with their phones while their children play with theirs or an iPad.

Maybe I’m just some kind of dinosaur who refuses to move on with the times, but I think there’s something to be said about engaging with the people who are physically around you and giving your full attention to someone who’s talking in front of you. Basic manners have disappeared and the smartphone has now become the umbilical cord of modern living. Tragic.