Where would we be without smartphones? Laptops? Or tablets? It’s an interesting question that is very pertinent in today’s world. But just ten years ago, the same questions would be met with confusion rather than answers.

The technological advances that society has witnessed in recent years are astonishing. Who would have thought twenty or even fifteen years ago that we would be able to talk to our phones and have them decipher what we say, and respond back?

And who would have believed that we would have the ability to instantaneously stream videos, or video chat with people all over the world? What about social networks like, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram?

Would they believe you if you told them that phones would be primarily touch screen and buttons would be rare, at best? Would they know what a touchscreen is?

How about gaming? Yes, there were video games twenty years ago, but they weren’t even cut from the same cloth as modern video games, where you can easily mistake NBA 2K15 for an actual game of basketball.

Now, would they want this technology, if they knew just how addicting these amazing gadgets would be?

As I type this up on my laptop, it is easy to see just how intertwined we have become with these rather amazing devices.

I myself just finished up an hour long meeting with my PlayStation 4, and I know now that I am done with that, I will have my iPhone securely fastened to my hand, and glued to my eyes for what will amount to at least a couple hours throughout the rest of the day.

But, I am not the only one that faces this addiction to technology.

Every day, I see my friends, my classmates, and perfect strangers glued to their phones, their laptops, or their tablets. You may not see it yourself, but look around; we are in a constant state of technological control.

The time that we currently spend with technology had to have come from somewhere. So, what did we used to do with the time that we now use to binge watch Netflix, or mindlessly scroll through Facebook?

We went out, had actual conversations, played sports, and generally had a much more fulfilling social life.

Not to say that our smartphones, or social networks can’t be used to aid us in our efforts to be more social. But most of us abuse what we have and let it control the way we spend our days.

To be clear, this is not an attack on technology, this is a wakeup call to those of you, like me, who can at times be consumed by it.

Everything that has been created was created to benefit us as a whole; I understand that, and I can honestly say that, for the most part, they have done that.

It is our job to not allow ourselves to be controlled by it.