Look Up!

When you are in a restaurant, take a look around you. You will see that the majority of people are bent forward towards the glow of their smartphones. Whatever is streaming on their phones is so engrossing that they seem to be in some sort of hypnotic trance, ignoring the people around them. Conversations at dinner table are limited to occasional banter.

Look up!

Scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, or Whatsapp has taken precedence over the real events scrolling through our daily lives to such an extent that social commentators lament that though we are more socially connected with the world, we are becoming more disconnected from each other. Social media has seemingly become our primary form of communication.

But should we place the blame on social media for the disconnect that is making us anti-social? I don’t think social media is to be blamed. It is our choice to log off and unplug anytime we want. It’s not the technology that’s the problem; it’s us for abusing it. Our over-indulgence on technology is the main cause for us becoming antisocial.

I came across writer and director Gary Turk’s video “Look Up” yesterday. It is a touching montage of a lost young man falling in love with a woman who gives him directions, and their life together without the hindrance of social media. The video doesn’t demonize social media entirely, but rather encourages people to take a break from their online lives to experience real connections. As Turk says in the video, “Look up from your phone, shut down the display. Take in your surroundings, make the most of today. Just one real connection is all it can take to show you the difference that being there can make.”

The video, uploaded to YouTube on April 25 2014, has garnered over 58 million views as of today. Watch the video below:

So the next time you’re out with family or friends, refrain from scrolling through your smartphone. Instead make the effort to socialize with the world around you. Look up!