Seen this everywhere lately... people checking texts during conversations, scrolling at red lights. That constant digital itch starts to feel normal, until you realize it's swapped out real attention. It chips away at things slowly, like not really hearing a story or missing a quiet moment. Soon you're just bodies in a room, each plugged into a different feed... and that feels way lonelier than being alone.
Ugh, calling me out here! I was halfway through typing a reply to this and got a notification, so I opened it and totally lost my train of thought. Proof of the problem, right? I caught myself scrolling through my phone during a really good part of a movie last night, then had to pretend I wasn't. My phone might as well be a third arm at this point.