Go outside and make a real connection

This morning on a trip into the village to run some errands, I saw a note on the church door about Pokemon and how you can catch one inside. Call me old fashioned, out-of-touch or ignorant if you like, but having come home to read up on ‘Pokemon Go’ to find out what on earth the note meant, I was horrified.

Is it this ‘real world meets virtual world’ app that gets people outdoors these days? Won’t people simply visit a church, a monument, climb a mountain, visit a piece of history or a stunning piece of architecture without a smartphone app?!

I know I take a lot of photos on my smartphone, but that is a fraction of the time we are outdoors or engaging with those I spend time with. I simply cannot stand the thought that children, young people and even adults are glued to their phones instead of looking around and taking in the world around them.

It seems the years that were spent attempting to get children who were glued to their computers in their bedrooms outside, has simply been replaced by a device that every child seems to have nowadays meaning that they can simply take their games with them and worse still, the virtual world is merging into the real world.

I realise I live in the countryside with lots of things around us, however, it isn’t this that makes me go out in search of fun and making memories. It is my imagination I use everyday when I am out with my daughter; we hunt for fairies, The Gruffalo, The Forest People. It is the same with sitting outdoors or indoors and just chatting together, playing hide and seek, all these things involve engagement with each other, memories being made, as well as inspiring little people to come up with their own fun.

How does the saying go?

“There is no wifi in the forest, but I promise you will find a better connection”

I realise that not everyone lives in the woods, but the point is made, town or country, there is a real connection to be made in the real world.

This is a ramble of a post really, maybe it is me that is completely out-of-touch… or maybe, just maybe, we need to stop driving the market for these sorts of apps and devices that remove any form of ‘real world’ fun and personal connection with the world, and people around us.

{ here ends my ‘old lady’ rant! }