We all have a love-hate relationship with our phones. We love them and have a hard time putting them down. Just one quick picture of this or that—or I’m just going to check this newsfeed really quick. And then we hate them because we look up, and every single person is doing the same thing. Everywhere we go people are looking down instead of up. We are missing so much of life, and we are teaching the generation coming behind us that what is happening on those screens is more valuable than what is happening in right in front of us.

Hear this: phones and all the things that come from them are very good. There are many benefits to social media, such as keeping in touch with family and friends or following your favorite author or speaker. However, if social media replaces actual socializing, then we are missing something. Social media was created to help us better connect with others, but if we forget how to connect with others in person, then we have missed the entire point.

A few years ago, I realized I struggled with this and so did a lot of the people I gather with for Thanksgiving. So, I grabbed one of my Mamaw’s baskets and made a sign: “Phone Jail: Drop your phone here. You can grab it to take a quick pic, but you’ve got to place it back here afterward. Let’s connect with actual face time today!”

Some people struggled with this more than others, but every single person in our family looks forward to the freedom from the phone for the day and getting to connect with those we love in real life.