EYES NOT SCREENS

Stop it. Please stop it. Just don't do it. You don't have to do it, so don't do it. Hang it up, put it away, set it to vibrate, close the screen and look me in the eyes

After all, we're having a conversation. About nothing. About everything. No agenda. No focus. One of those conversations. Just you and me or just all of us. Chatting. Just shooting the shit. We don't need assistance to do this, we are humans, we've been shooting the shit our whole lives.

The conversation can be formless, driven by our need to connect to each other, not by some agenda.

"How are you, how's work, what are you studying now, how's your other, did you ever figure out what that sludge is in the bottom of your fridge you know the stuff we now call Bob"

Conversations should be organic, not augmented. There are times when a conversation needs facts and figures and objective perspectives. But not now. Let's just relax around this coffee, this beer, this glass of wine, watch the sunset, listen to the music, watch the road roll by

We can be imperfect now. We can forget things and not quite remember things and Hell, what was the name of that show and you can say Oh yeh I know the one even though neither of us remembers its name. But we know what we mean. That's connection. Human connection

Let's keep it human. Let's keep the screen in our pocket. We don't need to light it up and swipe the screen and let our thumbs ago. We don't need information now. Sometimes we don't need to know, we just need to understand

That screen does  not really encourage understanding. It will give an answer but while you look for that answer or get distracted on the way to the answer the conversation has ceased to be organic. It's become less human

Now you are not looking me in the eyes, your eyes are down, your fingers are moving, your attention is elsewhere. Now you are having a conversation with me and you are having a conversation with the web. Two at once. Sure, you are good at multi tasking but why would you do that? Why would you suddenly talk to someone else why talking to me, someone else with whom I cannot properly engage

Please don't do that. Sometimes there is a need for that but not now. Let's not rely upon the data whipping around the world to inform and entertain. Let's rely upon each other. Just you and me. All of us. The ones gathered here, engaged, looking at each other

Eyes not screens. Let's do that.