As millennials, we’ve become adept at making our lives easier through the use of smartphones. Smartphones have become one of the most influential devices in our everyday lives, but perhaps these devices have become too influential and we may be using them at inappropriate times. One of the most inappropriate but most common times that we use our smartphones is in the midst of a conversation. Consequently, the art of conversation is being lost among the younger generation, and smartphones are the root of the problem.

Imagine you’re eating lunch with three of your best friends from high school. As you’re sharing stories and telling jokes, your friend’s phone vibrates and draws your attention. She checks her phone to find a text message, and the rest of you continue to tell stories. You eventually encounter a brief moment of silence in which your friends notice that friend #1 is still on her phone. Your other two friends don’t like the silence and check their phones as well; this leaves you to remain in silence for the next 20 seconds presumably feeling unimportant and frustrated. Not only does the use of smartphones unintentionally belittle people, but smartphones also hinder our ability to exhibit the nonverbal aspects of communication such as eye contact and body language that make up more than 70% of communication.

To end situations such as this, we all need to make an effort to become less dependent on our phones. We should limit our phone use to times at which we know we will be uninterrupted, and we should also engage in more conversations to practice sparking new conversation topics when the discussion gets dull. We need to get out of our comfort zone, off of our phones, and into a conversation.