An App Called "Respect"

This is so true and I am guilty of it at times.  My husband and I went to an appreciation dinner last weekend for the church media team that he serves on.  It was held at a home on Jackson Lake beach here in town.  They had a bonfire, served BBQ and it was actually warm enough to wear shorts and go barefoot in the sand.  A large number of people and their significant others showed up, a good age mix from the younger twenties to the older sixties.  As I sat and chatted with others, I noticed that every one from the younger generation that attended had their cell phones in hand, checking, scrolling, sharing pictures or texting.  Not one of the older generation did.  I didn't even bring my phone (or purse) with me.  I left it behind sitting on the kitchen counter at home.

I got to thinking about this and it bothers me that the younger generation relies so heavily on digital communication.  Yes, I text - sometimes a lot.  But I also pick up the phone and call the people I text.  My mother and I can watch a television show or program together by texting each other as we view it.  My friends back home and I can have a quick conversation via text when we are both too busy for a long phone conversation.  Those things I understand (and maybe champion because I'm doing them).  But it truly does bother me that the younger folks especially are paying more attention to their hand held gadgetry than the person or persons sitting across the table from them.

I know that I can't change the way others do things, only myself.  For me, that means less texting and more talking: one-on-one.  So yes, though I can't load that app for respect, I can adopt it into my daily routine.  I think that I'll get started on that today - right now, actually.  (Now I'm going to have Aretha Franklin singing R-E-S-P-E-C-T in my head for the rest of the day!)  Great.