It all started on a random Tuesday waiting in line to board a plane.
Imagine this scene boarding groups 1 and 2 are lined up. First and Business class have just boarded and they are now asking for families or individuals who need extra time.
My phone is charging, I have no headphones in and I'm just silently being a non tech human.
Then a man waiting in the line in front of me, says "just look how everyone is immersed in their phones." Necks bowed faces a glow with whatever video or post they were reading on social.
I told him I saw it to and then I said “I'm part of the problem” and he looked at me all confused “I work in marketing. And that's marketing.”
He nodded and said that is indeed marketing.
Then I told him about this art exhibition I saw where the photographer took pictures of people in intimate and every day situations and removed the phones from the photos and just how powerful those images were to me.
How we are missing out on our actual life because we are to busy watching someone elses.
He looked it up because the line wasn't moving, and noted how silly we truly do look when the phone is removed from the situation.
He got a call and right before he answered I wished him safe travels.
Because I was boarding group 4 and my travels were taking me on another connection to a music festival.
Where…
The documenting continued even in a wall of rain.
Besides the wall of phone screens between me and the stage the most interesting observation happened at the final event of the festival- the silent disco.
There we all were at least 100 of us with our bluetooth headphones dancing with the others who were tuned into the same channel as us when the headliner of the festival came in and the disco stopped.
A collective gasp feel across the venue loud enough to hear through bluetooth headphones pumping out jams and a wall of people moved toward the headliner, phones out and videoing. Stopping the live experience they had just been a part of to get a far away video for what to post to social to say they were in the same place as a celebrity- as if that video validates their entire existence at said festival?
My friend and I looked over and kept on dancing with the handful of others who were enjoying that moment.
As I watched people filming that headliner at the silent disco—trading a genuine experience for social validation—I couldn't help but think about us as business owners.
How often do we fall into the same trap? Documenting our businesses rather than being fully present in them? Creating content about our expertise instead of deepening it? Chasing likes while missing connections with the customers and community standing right in front of us?
The most successful businesses I know aren't just the ones with the most followers—they're the ones where the owners are genuinely present.
Where customer interactions aren't just content opportunities but meaningful exchanges.
Where social media amplifies the business rather than becoming the business.
This week, I challenge you (and myself) to set aside dedicated phone-free blocks during your workday. Notice what happens when you engage with your business without the filter of "how will this look online?" Maybe it's 30 minutes of uninterrupted conversation with a client. Maybe it's solving a problem without immediately sharing the solution.
Maybe it's simply experiencing the joy of your craft without documenting it.
Your business was built on your passion and expertise—not your social media presence. While digital marketing matters (and yes, again I recognize the irony of sending this in an email), it should serve your business, not the other way around.
Your customers don't just want your content. They want you—your undivided attention, your expertise, your humanity. That's the true currency of business and community that no algorithm can replicate.
So the next time you feel that pull to check notifications or create content, ask yourself: Am I missing a real moment and is this piece of content worth someone in my community missing a moment that matters more?
Here's to being present in our businesses and our IRL lives this summer.
P.S. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you found ways to balance digital marketing with being present in your business?