Screens.

I think I need a full-time job that does not require me sitting in front a computer screen all day. It’s not that I don’t like my computer screen or jobs associated with sitting on my butt (or lack there of); I just think my life is consumed by a sea of screens. Screens of all shapes and sizes, not just the very object I’m looking at while I type this.

Screens are everywhere I turn. It’s really quite amazing. According to this article, by year’s end there will be more smartphones in the world than people.  I completely believe that. I bring this up is to show you just one aspect of the number of screens in the world. If there will be 10 billion smartphones by 2016, imagine, if you can, the number of televisions, computer screens, digital watches, digital thermostats, handheld gaming devices, etc. The list goes on and on because just about anything imaginable can and will have a screen. We don’t even read books on paper anymore. They’re on a screen. I am fascinated and repulsed by it, at the same time.

My eyes get ‘tired’ of staring at the screen quicker and quicker. I used to be good for hours but now it’s only an hour. I am a little scared for my future and I am only 21. To rest my eyes, I tend to pick up my Windows Phone and browse some apps or navigate my MP3 player for a change of song. After a long day of work, I go home and either browse Facebook from my laptop or turn on the TV. But don’t worry, when I watch TV I have my tablet right next to me, just in case. When I get bored with watching TV shows, I play some Xbox; completely submerged in LCD screenage.

I feel like the paragraph above can easily describe your average day. Work – computer screen/smartphone. Home – computer screen/smartphone/TV/tablet. There’s nothing wrong with this but to get a little philosophical with you, all these screens feel a bit unnatural. Almost like an addiction. Instead of going outside and practicing my golf swing, I watch a TV show or YouTube clips on how to fix it. Instead of playing sand volleyball, I watch highlight videos.

It’s difficult to get away from a screen these days. And by ‘these days’, I really mean my whole life. I have grown up in a generation that grew up with this growing technology. Lots of growing in that last sentence. We are practically BFFLs who went to the same K-12 and have finally become college roommates. It was great at first but I am getting a little tired of seeing him every day. I just want my space.

And this brings us back to my opening statement. I do not want to stare at screen all day. The tricky part is I still want to be surrounded by technology. I love it. It is my passion. How do I balance the two?  There’s so much more to say but I don’t read articles any longer this and I don’t expect you to either. Now take some time to rest your eyes by playing Angry Birds.

P.S. This post could have easily been called Connected. Just replace the word ‘screen’ with ‘internet connection’. I just feel the internet is nothing if you can’t view it. A bold statement and something I questioned the second I typed it but I stand by it. For now…