I do my best to limit my phone time, but I live in a family, and a world, where money is highly stressed. If a phone screen breaks, or no one has access to the computer, all hell breaks loose. If my sister won't let me use the computer for my media blogs, I will yell at her and my mom until she lets me use it. I cringe if my meal anywhere is going to be over $7 or so. To relax in the evenings, I don't talk to my family, I watch television.
I saw a girl at the AT&T store last week trying to figure out how much she should be paying for her phone. From what I heard, her aunt and her share the bill, and she was paying way more money than she should be every month, and it was really putting a schism in their relationship. The girl asked the AT&T lady if it was "fair" or "acceptable" for her aunt to be paying less of the bill than her. The lady at AT&T didn't know what to say, and I think I know why! Your aunt isn't torturing you or restricting you from human contact, she's just trying to share a phone bill with you! That should never have to be the reason that your family relationships are in jeopardy, or any relationship.
I was told yesterday that I am too impulsive to maintain human relationships because I am careless and break dishes about twice a month and a break phones a lot. I don't think that our relationship with media is always the issue, but our relationship with things. You can't judge a person's ability to be with other people on their ability to handle things, it's not the same ballpark. But it's also something I can't change. I'm clumsy, but I have a lot of love for everyone and those things shouldn't be dependent on one another! But I also can't say that I don't put things first. I can't help that I cried because we broke the neighbor's window, but I need to know that it's just a window!! That BB could have hit someone's head. Yes, my parents will be out a few hundred dollars now, and I really want to tell them that it's just money and it doesn't matter. But it does matter to them. And me. And anyone who's ever held money in their hands and bought something with it. Nothing is free anymore, and it's really changing how humans interact and respect one another. I just wish that my connection with things, especially money, wasn't as strong as it is. That is why I am sad.
This is my dog at the cemetery. She's really funny and always listens to what I have to say and we're dying anyway so I might as well care more about her than my coin purse.
Materialism is huge in our society. It allows us to get away from things, to escape. If you don't have money, you can't fly to somewhere like Hawaii. Computers and the internet are also worlds of their own. Their are so many things you can find and learn on the internet that you would've never learned without it. Material things also can't change their mind, they are predictable while people are not. Material things can't hate you, they can't get bored with you. Material things give comfort and it gives you a feeling of stability. I'm not saying I'm for materialism over people, I'm just saying why it might be important to people. Materialism is static, people are dynamic. Humans are naturally selfish, you will always care more about yourself, you want what makes you feel good. Humans can make you feel really good some of the time. But things like the internet can make you feel good whenever. I don't think that it will change.
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