What can be more obvious than the fact that you are glaring at a screen right now looking for reasons and ways to shun it?

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram. They are all a key part of our social lives, to say the least. Or are they really? Well! It does not even feel like your own life sometimes, so deeply influenced are we by these social behemoths of ideas and opinions. Defined by the number of likes and followers, the number of friends and tweets, we are slowly forgetting what it is to live and interact in the real world. In the garden, on the street, while commuting or holidaying, our lives are increasingly being defined by what we see or choose to show online.

Our life choices are no longer determined by what we enjoy doing, but by what we feel others will enjoy seeing. *face palm*

Instead of gazing at the awe-inspiring natural beauty, we are busy looking for the perfect angle for a great shot to put up on Facebook even during a family vacation.

The threat of becoming a social recluse, strained and watery eyes, mood swings, binge eating, a distorted sense of reality, depression, jealousy - you know the tell-tale signs. After all, the screen knows all and tells us all. We are omniscient in that sense.

So why then the lingering sense of dissatisfaction? It is a sign of life less lived.

So get off the screen now and get into an engaging conversation with that mysterious looking stranger who is coincidentally also your neighbor. Look into the eyes of your children when they tell you about their day for they will soon grow up and stop sharing. Smile and greet your spouse after a tiring day at work.

Switch off, and walk, jog, run, swim, dance or play, but pray - do it today! A minute’s surfing can easily turn into hours and the peek into the trending news piece can easily take up a chunk off your free time or work time.

The real reason to get away from your pc and mobile screen is that you are in front of it now and may remain so for the next couple of hours; the hours that could be easily spent completing so many things from your To Do list while you enlist newer To Dos from BuzzFeed.

Start with setting small but achievable milestones- checking mails or updates in the middle of conversations and meals should be a strict no. It leaves your loved ones feeling unimportant and unloved. We tend to do this with the people who matter the most to us as social etiquettes disappear with our closest ones. Take one net-free hour every day, and one social-media free day every week.

Look up, get real, go out and live real!