Malta has always been known to be a country where everyone heads down to the beach at every possible opportunity in the summer.

We are a social people – enjoying company, eating al fresco and sipping a glass of wine or two in the cool evenings. But things have changed. Whereas people used to sit around in groups and play football or volleyball on the beach, we now have entire bays full of people kicking back on deckchairs and loungers with their heads down, tapping away furiously on their mobile phones or tablets.

Walking down the street has also become a mission as people have their heads buried in their phones as they catch up on emails, send snapchats, upload to instagram or any one of the million and one apps that now exist.

It’s almost as if no one even has the time to talk any more – we are that connected that we are all becoming slaves and addicts to instant communication and social networks.

Granted, life changes, and we have to embrace it – just as humanity has embraced the other major era changes that have comes its way. But surely, at this rate, we will end up growing another pair of thumbs within 10 generations if we keep going at this rate.

It seems that while technology and gadgets have made communication easier – it is starting to severely damage our ability to actually communicate face to face.

And it just keeps getting worse. Many parents say that their kids are completely hooked to gadgets. Some have said that they face situations where their teenagers have the television on, the games console on, the tablet going, while their offspring is sat like a couch potato tapping away on their phone.

Scientific studies have shown that we have one of the most sedentary lifestyles in the world and we are also amongst the fattest nations in the world. Sitting around on a sofa with air conditioning going ten to the dozen while we are immersed in our gadgets is not likely to help much either.

This is a phenomenon that is taking hold all over the world, and Malta is no exception. One wonders whether statistics are kept about the number of kids (or adults for that matter) who still play some sport or another. It would be food for thought – pardon the pun. The key to all this is for families to actually get up and go out of the house and do something together – while leaving their phones at home. Surely, one hour out of the day would help no end in improving family bonds as well as giving our brains a break.