Do you get more emails than phone calls at work? Do you find that majority of communication with your friends and family is done through facebook, emails, text messages, and BBM? Has technology taken over and our communication skills slowly dwindling? Honestly it has gotten ridiculous, and I will admit…I am part of the crowd.
I have never liked to talk on the phone. In middle and high school, I was not the kid to sit around and chat it up with my friends or boyfriend. I would call my friends, make plans and go do it. I didn’t have my own house phone line… and if I was on the phone and we got a “beep”, I had to answer it and…. if it was for my parents, we had to give the phone over (even if it was one of their friends that just wanted to chat it up!). I didn’t get a cell phone until I started driving and even then it was only used for an emergency.
When I got to college there was AIM, and to me, the best thing that came along since water wings! I didn’t have to talk on the phone to see what my friends were doing and I didn’t have to waste a text message (since mom put a cap on how many texts we could use each month!) We found ourselves in the sorority house AIM’ing to each other down the hallway to see if one of the girls had a cute top to wear out that night! GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND WALK DOWN THERE! If we were out at the bar EVERYONE would text because you couldn’t hear if you were trying to call someone. I came to depend on this technology every freaking day. No wonder kids out of college have such rough times with job interviews. With online classes and technology attached to our hand, who needs to communicate verbally. Too bad we can’t conduct an interview through email! I could probably respond ten times quicker with my typing skills before the words could come out of my mouth professionally.
Now, several years down the road, I own this amazing little thing called a BlackBerry. In ways it is the devil. I am too “plugged in.” (I actually have two phones: one for work and one personal) On my personal BlackBerry I receive my personal Gmail and on my work BlackBerry, my Duke email. As soon as I receive an email, it comes right through to my phone. Rarely do I log on to my computer to check my mail! I can send texts on both phones and I can get on BBM with both. If you don’t know what BBM is, it might be the devils first child. BBM stands for BlackBerry Messenger and it provides BlackBerry users with the familiar look-and-feel of a desktop instant messaging program right on your phone. You use BBM to chat with other BlackBerry users in an easy-to-use instant messaging format. So …pretty much my favorite communication tool on my computer in college is now in the palm of my hand 24 hours a day 7 days a week. DANGEROUS!
I went out with a guy the other week that I had never even talked on the phone with! I gave him my number while we were out on a Saturday and two days later he texted me to see if I wanted to do something the next weekend. I said OK and then throughout the week we would BBM each other back and forth just to stay in contact…then Saturday came and I meet him out for dinner. This has become the norm – There isn’t that time for awkward conversation on the phone when all you have to do is send a BBM or text; I guess I am sparing myself that uncomfortable silence , we can encounter that when we meet face-to-face!
Even sitting at my desk at work, I find myself instant messaging people a question before picking up the phone and calling. No one uses their phone! Not really sure why we even have them! I get emails from my boss asking me a question and he actually sits directly in front of me (no more than 20ft away!) I AM DEAD SERIOUS! What is this world coming too?! How sad is all of this?! Some companies have started rules that on Friday’s, it is no email day. If you have to do anything, you pick up the phone and call the person directly. No one is expected to check their email or send emails. I think I like this idea! Oprah had a challenge this past season to see who could go weeks without their “technology.” Weeks would be hard, but I wouldn’t mind trying to go a day without using anything except the phone! Could you do it?!
Anyway, this blog entry came to mind after seeing this article- probably the saddest thing I have seen! They actually have a competition for this cr*p!
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1 comment:
I could kick her butt, hands down!
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