A clip of a swimmer looking at her phone while doing laps in a public pool got a lot of attention from people who are concerned humanity is spending too much time looking at screens.
The video, shared by meme page @browncardigan, drew commenters who called the moment “dystopian,” even as they reacted to it on their own phones.
Others defended the swimmer, arguing that multitasking is hardly new and that a waterproof phone in a pool isn’t inherently outrageous. The debate ultimately raised a bigger question: who’s really “not in the moment”—the swimmer, or the person filming her?
The clip of the woman doing the backstroke in Sydney's Icebergs Pool was shared by the popular meme account racked up over 23,000 likes on Instagram. The caption joked, “Good to see people just being in the moment,” and tagged the post with #beinthemoment and #nevergooffline to sharpen the critique.
Other commenters defended the swimmer and even reprimanded the poster for failing to mind their own business. People multitask when they’re on their phones all the time, why not take your waterproof phone into the pool?
Some posited that she was using her phone to make swimming related content for work or pleasure.
Instagram users shrugged off fear mongering about tech addiction
People in the comments section dismissed the poster’s critique, and eventually someone pointed out the obvious—”She is a great swimmer 🙌🙌🙌,” wrote @donato_748. Can’t argue with that.
“Is it possible that she was just creating some sort of video or showing how to do something or simply just creating content for followers that has to do with swimming?”
“What's shocking people doing stuff like this all the time.”
“Too funny. People drive and txt why not swim and txt?
“What's the issue? She's enjoying herself and isn't bothering anyone. 🖖🏾🌹”
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