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In his Cosmos & Culture blog on NPR, Professor Marcelo Gleiser writes about the modern tendency, from selfies emailed to friends to YouTube videos documenting personal milestones, to make oneself the star of one’s own life—all via the smartphone.

“There is a side of it that makes sense; we all matter, our lives matter, and we want them to be seen, shared, appreciated. But there is another side that leads to a disengagement with the moment,” writes Gleiser, the Appleton Professor of Natural Philosophy.

“Are people forgetting to be present in the moment, scattering their focus by looking at life through a screen? Should you be living your life or living it for others to see it?”

Read the full opinion piece, published 10/1/14 by NPR.