Yesterday my wife and I visited a sandwich shop that we quite like, a cheap little hole-in-the-wall with a great chicken sandwich. It is very close to one of the local high schools, and yesterday when we arrived, there was a group of around eight students finishing up their lunch.
They were giggling and cutting up as kids have done since my time. With one noticeable difference. Yes, they were interacting with each other to some extent, but they were all primarily interacting with their smartphones. And while I think this is harmful for a whole host of reasons, there was one aspect of their behavior that really stood out to me.
When they stopped their respective texting or game-playing or whatever other nonsense (it is never anything serious) they were doing on their devices, what do you think they did? Do you think they discussed their homework or the overbearing math teacher? No, no, they stopped the nonsense only to take selfies. In the fifteen minutes that we shared the space, I cannot count how many selfies they took.
Now like I said, this place is a dive. It's not like going to fancy restaurant and taking a photo to remember the meal and/or the company. No, they were decidedly not taking photos of the place. And something else I noticed, in contrast to my day, they were not taking photos of each other. Hey you guys, let me take a photo of you. No, it was always a selfie, with or without the others in it.
Now clearly they were having fun. What's the harm? Well, what do you think they did for lunch a day earlier? Clearly the where does not matter. So wherever it was, in all likelihood, they were doing pretty much the same thing. Taking selfies.
Just imagine, taking selfies all day long, everyday. I mean, when I have a camera in my hands, I struggle to find an interesting enough subject. But young people today have a never-ending supply of the most fascinating thing they can imagine: Themselves.
I find this terrifying.