Buried Alive in San Francisco

I walk around the streets of San Francisco and what do I see around me - a bunch of zombies deeply and irreversibly buried in their smartphones. I know people use smartphones all over the world. I know that the Instagram epidemic is also a global phenomenon, but I hear that it's much worse here than anywhere else. Everyone is permanently glued to their phones day and night. No one ever looks up.

Eye contact?! What's that? No one looks at anyone and no one notices anyone. This very primal gesture of looking at each other and assessing each for attraction, threat or due to simply curiosity has been taken out of the equation. People have given up, but then again - the younger ones don't know any better because they have never had a chance to experience live during better times.

I know, I know - it's none of my business what other people do and where they are looking at, but still - it so damn disturbing.

Will it ever get better or will it get much worse? A friend from overseas has recently visited me, and he was very surprised by how oblivious the locals are to their surroundings, even though it's clear that many of them are single. He comes from a culture where everyone is looking at everyone else, so it was hard for me to explain to him why things the way they are here. I couldn't blame it on technology, because he lives in the city where cellphones are better and cheaper, and wifi is much faster, and yet it doesn't have the same effect on the society.

Will people ever dare again to approach and talk to each other just because they locked eyes and felt like there was something between them?

Submitted January 18, 2020 at 12:12AM

I walk around the streets of San Francisco and what do I see around me - a bunch of zombies deeply and irreversibly buried in their smartphones. I know people use smartphones all over the world. I know that the Instagram epidemic is also a global phenomenon, but I hear that it's much worse here than anywhere else. Everyone is permanently glued to their phones day and night. No one ever looks up.Eye contact?! What's that? No one looks at anyone and no one notices anyone. This very primal gesture of looking at each other and assessing each for attraction, threat or due to simply curiosity has been taken out of the equation. People have given up, but then again - the younger ones don't know any better because they have never had a chance to experience live during better times.I know, I know - it's none of my business what other people do and where they are looking at, but still - it so damn disturbing.Will it ever get better or will it get much worse? A friend from overseas has recently visited me, and he was very surprised by how oblivious the locals are to their surroundings, even though it's clear that many of them are single. He comes from a culture where everyone is looking at everyone else, so it was hard for me to explain to him why things the way they are here. I couldn't blame it on technology, because he lives in the city where cellphones are better and cheaper, and wifi is much faster, and yet it doesn't have the same effect on the society.Will people ever dare again to approach and talk to each other just because they locked eyes and felt like there was something between them?