The lights are off, but the basement is lit by the glowing screens of cell phones. The silence is broken by a giggle, and your friend showing you a hilarious tweet as she clicks the favorite button (perhaps from Mike Michalski?). Everyone laughs, but quickly whip their heads down and enter back into their own worlds of internet wonder. Typical sleepover.

What I want to know is, when did everything change? When did we decide that going through Instagrams together counts as quality time? When did stalking pictures of the cute boy in your 3rd hour on Facebook count as hanging out with friends?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally guilty of this myself. The difference is, lately I don’t want to be. I miss running over to my neighbors house, ringing the doorbell, and going off on adventures around the neighborhood. I miss playing in the woods for hours until the mosquito bites and calls to come in for dinner tore me away from the sticks and digging in the dirt. Most of all, I miss my life before the technology takeover.

The cell phone killed my childhood.  As one of the few teens left with the state-of-the-art slider phone crafted by the technology gods in the early 2000s, I still have a fighting chance to resist the addiction . For my fallen comrades with smart phones, there is little hope.

It’s not just phones either. Its Twitter, Instagram, Flappy Bird, TV, Pinterest. It’s society’s push towards the future that’s leaving human interaction in the past, and making me sick.

Take a break from the warmth of your laptop (unless you’re reading Bucsblade.com of course). Quit procrastinating and actually go try those things you’ve been too lazy to do for a while. Girls, go read A Fault in Our Stars, guaranteed you’ll cry more than any Grey’s Anatomy episode could inspire. Join a new sport, ask that girl out that you’ve been too shy to approach. What is life without risk? Sitting on your butt giggling at youtube videos isn’t living.  Go out and experience the real world before it slips away. As humans we were created for companionship, not for this life of fake friends and weak relationships held together by text messages. So have fun cuddling your cold computer screen tonight, thats all you’ll have left if you lose touch with the real world.