Are We Really Living?
After reading Ananya Udaygiri’s essay “How Animal Crossing Will Save Gen Z,” something that stood out to me was a quote about the game Animal Crossing. In this game, you “[perform] basic, everyday functions… [You] simply… live,” as stated by Udaygiri. This quote disrupted me as I considered the current state we are in during the 21st century accompanied by Covid-19. With the future dragging us forward, we often forget to stay still for a moment and live.
Going on a hike? Post a photo of the view. Going to the beach? Snap a picture of the waves (bonus points if you get the sunset). Getting brunch? You cannot take a bite until it’s on your Snapchat story. I’m not trying to bash people who do these things, as I’ve also found myself doing this; it is just sad that we choose to show other people something before we get to enjoy it ourselves. We are so caught up in our image that we forget to pay attention to what is right in front of us.
Indulging in social media is not bad, nor is it unreasonable, but too much of it can consume you and distract you from reality. You can get caught up in the facades labeled as reality and think that you may need to look or act a certain way. I mean, how misleading is the term reality show? You watch wealthy people live their lives, and that is labeled to be reality? In actuality, there is nothing all that realistic about it. While some social media influencers truly live these luxurious lives, it is so damaging for those watching to call it a reality because most of it is not real. Owning several cars and watches at the same price as a car is not what normal looks like, and there are so many young people thinking this is the expectation they must fulfill.
For reasons like this, sometimes we need to take a couple of steps back and take a look at what is right in front of us. How often do we spend quality time with our family without it being a holiday? How often do we time with our friends without using our phones? How often is it when we go on a walk around our neighborhoods? These simple pleasures are easy to obtain, but we overlook them because we are so used to having them around. We do not care for what is staring back at us because we are too busy staring at someone else.
Take this moment to challenge yourself, as I will do the same, and recall the last time you truly enjoyed yourself without your phone being present within the past 24 hours. Without a structured plan to do something without your phone, when was the last time you had a good time in the present? When was the last time you lived your life?