Can we leave the gadgets for a while?

I can empathise with the letter to the editor today on “City folk tied to their smart gadgets”. One paragraph that rings true is when the writer mentioned friends whom he has tried to meet for more than a year despite them staying about 5km away. I might add that my friends and I do meet each other but the occasion would see everyone using their gadgets rather than talking face to face.

The other occasions friends and families meet would be at weddings, funerals and anything to do with food. Food would certainly bring many out of their fixation with the gadgets but up to a certain point. The food is finished as fast as possible so as to enable the person to go back to his gadget and check the latest happenings. No wonder each morsel taste the same as the next and the chef's efforts goes to waste.

I'm guilty as the next person in this aspect but try to put my foot down that our meets must set aside at least some time talking to each other face to face. This rule has to be put in place or else there would not be any point at all meeting each other. Keeping up to date with the latest events is understandable but doesn't anyone want to know what is happening to the person in front of  us?

We can be updated continuously on what is on going in anyone's lives who is in our network. We can even make video calls and would be able to see his facial expressions in order to gauge the emotional state he is in at that particular time. But once we are meeting each other in person, shouldn't we concentrate and make full use of that moment.

Time is precious and everyone is in a rush. The gadgets supposedly help us to be well-informed every hour of the day. It is a personal choice and some might want that kind of life but for me there are limits. There is a time and place for the gadgets. Real human interaction is much more fascinating.

Image from kindredcone