Remember when you got your first answering machine? What a thrill! Now you wouldn’t have to worry about missing calls anymore! The toughest part of the answering machine was who would get to talk and what cool message you would put on it.
Oh, how far we’ve come…or maybe not. Think about all the technological advancements we’ve made since those ancient answering machines: cell phones, voice mail, e-mail, text messaging, Skyping, Facetime – the list goes on and on.
There is certainly a convenience to all these gadgets and apps. Now, you no longer have to worry about missing a call at home, but people have access to you no matter where you are!
Wait. Is that a good thing? It can be; there are times I’m running around with the kids or on my way somewhere, but I’m waiting for an important call. When we took a family trip to South Dakota a couple years ago, our water softener had sprung a cat-induced leak the day before, and I had contacted someone to fix it, but needed to give them my credit card once it was done. My cell phone was convenient then since we were cruising down I-90.
But that’s not always the case, is it? Sure, we can ignore the call if we want, but then everyone is staring at you, wondering when that tacky ring tone will be done.
I’ve also found that calling some people isn’t even worth my time; they never answer their phones. However, if I text them, I get an immediate response. I realize that not everyone wants to talk to me (hard to imagine), but it seems some people are removing themselves from interpersonal contact.
Last year, I was trying to get ahold of a baseball coach about a tournament I was running. I left him three messages on his cell phone before he finally called me back. He told me he rarely returned calls; you just had to keep calling and harassing him. What? I thought the purpose of a cell phone was to make it easier to reach people!
The same thing goes for email. If you have e-mail, you should check it at least every other day. I recently sent an e-mail to the managing editor at the Owatonna People’s Press to ask why they weren’t including two days’ worth of comic strips any more. No response, not even a form e-mail. This isn’t the Star Tribune; I expect something!
Look at our teenagers. Do they ever just call each other and talk anymore? Anyone remember Mom or Dad yelling at you to get off the phone since they were expecting a call? Now we have call waiting, so that’s not a problem. But I don’t think kids talk much anymore. They text and message on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve actually witnessed kids sitting ten feet apart texting EACH OTHER!
Face to face communication is still so important in our society. Having sat in on interviews for new staff the past two years, I can tell you I base part of my judgment on the facial responses to questions and the non-verbal communication going on. Are younger people learning these vital skills?
I’ve seen more and more kids struggle with public speaking in my classroom, and I wonder if this lack of personal interaction has anything to do with it. Public speaking is always difficult, but the uptick in anxiety leads me to hypothesize that kids need to spend more time looking at faces than they do screens. Some adults might need to as well.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a phone call to make.
Word of the Week: This week’s word is candor, which means truthfulness, as in, “He picked up the phone, intending to use candor to tell her why the relationship was over.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!