Get off your phones. It’s that simple.

No matter where I go, no matter where I look, everyone around me has their eyes glued to their screen. I can go out to dinner, and nearly everyone seated at the tables around me is staring blankly at their devices. Even when living, breathing human beings are seated around them, they still choose social media and brainless video games over their human companions.

Frankly, it’s rude. When did communicating through smartphones become more important than interacting with real people? We are losing our true human connections and bonds with people because of artificial relationships.

Nothing infuriates me more than when I’m talking to someone and they whip out their phone and start doing something pointless with it. Did you do it because you’re bored? Did you do it because you are incapable of human interaction? I don’t understand how Snapchat could be more important than the company I am giving you.

We are becoming isolated from our communities and peers due to these devices. No longer do you have to bring your best social skills to the table while talking to somebody; you can pretend to be someone you’re not from the safe spot behind your screen. Honest relationships are hard to come by these days with the strange cultural norms that smartphones have brought to our society.

It’s not hard to turn this social deterioration around, though. All you have to do is stop looking at your phone so much and start having real interactions with people. No matter what you have to do, whether it be joining a club or inviting somebody out to coffee, please get off your phones and start building real relationships with the people around you.