Lunchtime, any day, any week, the diner that Diego Ruiz Duran sits in is full. He watches as patrons come and go, he watches as they eat, quickly, barely tasting their food, barely taking a break. In his mind, work never ceases for some people and they must continue as the entire day goes by, probably on into the night, for some. However, he believes it may not be work that consumes so much time, but an addiction, an addiction to smartphones. He never sees them take a break. Browsing the internet even as they order their lunch. He doesn’t know how so many don’t miss their mouth with their fork, he chuckles to himself. People are so involved in whatever is happening on their screen that the reality around them is lost.
A few years ago, he might not have guessed it, but even his own life has been affected by smartphones. His son wanted to have a better, more advanced form of communication with him. So now, once a month a letter from the phone company shows up bearing Diego Ruiz Duran requesting that monthly payment, that money for the previous month’s fix. In some ways, even he was a victim of it. But, he hadn’t fallen too far that he doesn’t still notice what is happening around him at the diner. When he first got the phone, it was merely for talking but as technology advanced, so did the phones, themselves. His son began to drift away, to give less and less effort to his personal life, away from being online. He watched videos, vlogs, and listened to podcasts every day.. Whenever Duran decided to stop by, all he had to do was call. But, over time, his son spent less and less time communicating, interacting, being present. At the end, before he started counting how many days it had been since he had spoken with his son, he could barely get the boy to acknowledge his presence for more than a handful of seconds at a time. He hopes that soon, they can have a talk, they see if he can help in any way, they see if all is not lost to the addiction. He hopes, he prays but knows that in the end he should probably send a text or an email, to truly reach him.