Flatlander Faith

We had been shopping in the city and our last stop was Walmart. By the time we were done there it was almost supper time. If we drove home, unloaded and put away the groceries and made supper it would be an hour and a half before we could eat. Not to mention that the cook was weary. So we decided to eat there. Chris went to McDonald’s and I went to the other end of Walmart to get my meal at Tim Horton’s, carried it back to McDonald’s and we sat down to eat together.

I noticed a young man at another table with an attractive young lady sitting across from him. Evidently they had finished eating and his attention was now fully engaged by electronic interaction with phantom people via words on a small screen, probably via Facebook or Twitter. He would type something, press send, then read something else and start typing again. This continued all the time that we sat there.

Meanwhile, the young lady was trying to engage him in conversation. He would look up,give a one word answer and return to his social media conversations. She got up and left for a few minutes, then returned. He was still completely engrossed in communication with people in cyberspace. She made a few more attempts to get his attention, then stood up, kissed him on the cheek and left.

All this time I am thinking, “What is wrong with this guy? Here is an attractive young lady just across the table from him who wants to get his attention — and he is more interested in engaging with people in  cyberspace that he might not even know.”

So who was the loser in this competition between the girlfriend and social media? I would have to say that it was the young man.