The Lost Art of Communication
Most people in today's society have lost the ability to communicate.
Sounds silly right? How can a modernized society like ours lose the ability to have a simple conversation? Unfortunately it has happened.
When we’re little we learn our first words. Those first words turn into first sentences. Those first sentences turn into our written and spoken thoughts. As we grow up we are taught how to use those words, sentences, and thoughts to communicate with others. That communication builds the relationships we have in our lives. Technology has also advanced as we have gotten older. The evolution of things like smart phones have greatly influenced our generation.
For starters we call our cell phones smart phones. Technology has become smart aka knows all the answers to everything. You have a question about something? You ask Siri. Need directions? Siri has that too. We no longer have to learn about geography or reading a map because Siri will get us where we need to go. You’re looking for recommendations about a new restaurant in town? You Google/Yelp it. There is little to no face-to-face conversation to find out details about things. If our technology is so smart why do we need other people? What would be the reason to create conversation?
Social media networks have become outlets to express feelings. Individuals no longer take time to talk to others. You’re upset about the bad day you had? You’ll tweet about it before you say it. You found out the guy you like has been talking to other people behind your back? You post a quote or song lyric that distinctly relates to your life situation and then not talk to anyone about how you feel. I’m all for creating posts with quotes and inspirational topics. There is a difference though between venting online and trying to inspire others online.
It’s also come to the point where people try to start relationships online. Whether it’s a message from someone telling you that you look good in your profile picture or someone asking you out via message….it’s unreal. If you like someone enough to ask them on a date why aren’t you doing it in person? There are even apps to meet people in your area (aka Tinder, Bumble, etc). It isn’t a common thing to meet people face-to-face anymore.
We are so connected as a society…..but it’s a connection to the wrong devices.
Instead of being connected to other human beings it is almost like we’ve created a bond with the online world and all of its being. I have walked into restaurants plenty of times and have seen people circled around a table on their cell phones. Some may be texting, some tweeting, others taking pictures of their food for their Snapchat or Instagram, but not one of them is paying attention to those people sitting across or next to them. Iphones are glued to the hands of our generation. Something so small has become so essential in our lives. It’s to the point where we are neglecting people we care about and ignoring the world around us.
This way of life has caused our society to suffer.
Relationships are no longer real relationships. Relationship worth has decreased due to things like social media. If you aren’t posting about your relationship people don’t even believe you’re in one. People dig deep into a person’s social media sites to try to find out about them rather than talking to them in person. Couples now have arguments over something someone favorited, retweeted, or liked by the other person. Now, if the person you like doesn’t text you first, or text you back then he/she isn’t interested. Now, if someone opened your Snapchat and didn’t reply they don’t like you back. Now, if someone didn’t like the selfie you posted they probably are into somebody else. When did all of these become measurements to tell if a person likes you or not?
Want to know what I think?
Now don’t get me wrong, my Iphone is useful….but we’ve taken all of this too far. I consider myself a people person. I have an Iphone and I have social media networks. I may be connected to the online world, but I am not disconnected from the real world. I have the ability and the want to get to know someone face-to-face. I have the want to notice the little things around me and the people I surround myself with. I crave the experience of getting to know a person (in person) if they’re interested in me. I pride myself in the fact I still can communicate with others. I will never understand how others cannot want real contact and communication. Call me old-fashioned or call me too mature, but I think somethings got to give here.
Take time to reevaluate what you’re doing. Makes some changes and become more personable. Build a network outside of your social media networks. Our parents, grandparents, and so on all survived without all of this technology. We’re lucky to have all of these advancements and all of this technology. We need to start using it the right way.
