Perched on the abductor machine, wishing I had not left my mobile phone in the car, I scanned the gym and saw that everyone was tethered to theirs. How did we exercise in the past without this much-needed, frantic distraction?

By Adriana Lebbos
The scene isn't much different when I'm with my cousins or friends. As if we all always wanted to be somewhere else. I am browsing travel pages; one cousin is scanning Zara.com, and another is thinking about her business's social media strategy.

Even when I try to unwind with a Netflix binge, I find myself mindlessly toggling between scenes, unable to fully immerse myself in the storyline as I flick through my business page and cringe at uninspiring LinkedIn posts.

While writing this, I’ve taken a few minutes to scroll through social media platforms as my mind wanders. It’s as if my ability to concentrate has been robbed from me.

In ancient cultures, being present was a philosophical concept and a way of life. Whether through mindfulness practices, communal gatherings, or simple moments of solitude in nature, our wise ancestors cultivated a deep sense of contentment by fully immersing themselves in the present moment.

IN THE NOW.

And now we are miserable because we always want to be somewhere else. And it feels like we’re living in a hallway. Constantly.

In a world mercilessly pulling us in different directions, being present is an act of rebellion, a conscious choice to reclaim our time and attention, a declaration that our happiness solely depends on our ability to fully engage with the richness of the present moment—with the now.

Social media is giving us everything we could wish we ever had. Everything. It’s all up for grabs. Except for one thing, without it, everything else loses its meaning: happiness. The present moment. The joy of being in the now. Won’t we regret it one day?

Did we spend all this time physically there but absent-minded elsewhere? We’re the guinea pigs in this crazy worldwide experiment, and we’re uncertain what the implications will be.