Why we should put away our smartphones...
My grandmother, while never loquacious, was the most intelligible person I've met in my lifetime. Her eloquence allowed her to say more with only a few words than most can communicate through verbose speeches. To her, quality was invariably more important than quantity. Quality of communication to my grandmother meant more than knowing the proper syntax. She was the type of person that looked you in the eye when speaking to you, that devoted her entire attention to the moment you were sharing in conversation, that looked for cognizance in the depths of your face.
As technology becomes an increasingly important method of communication in society, I find myself yearning for conversations like the ones I had with my grandmother. I crave quality conversation; conversation uninterrupted by the compulsion to continually monitor social media updates or by the vibration of a mobile phone. I ache for the days when an entire group of people could participate in a conversation because they were mentally present and living in the moment.
While I am not an enemy of technology, I do attribute the inattentiveness of my peers and thus, indirectly, the decline of quality conversation to the ever-growing presence of technology in our lives. The opportunity for mass-communication has led to an overwhelming pressure to communicate as frequently as possible. Modern consumers have even reached the extreme of deeming it necessary to update their entire social media network of even the most inconsequential life events, such as what vegetable they've chosen for a dinner side. With the evolution of smartphones, status updates and 'tweets', we can now "communicate" with hundreds or even thousands of people in less than thirty seconds. While this mass-communication method does satisfy the need to communicate frequently, it is at the cost of compromising the quality of communication.
One aspect of communication that has been especially influenced is grammar, syntax and diction. A large portion of communication is accomplished through means of technology, such as texting or typing, rather than spoken word. Logic would suggest that the increase in written word would improve communication skills such as spelling and grammar, and give more time to compose an idea, leading to more thoughtful context in conversations. Contrarily, pressure to communicate frequently and quickly has led to perfunctory chatter, often comprised of abbreviations and acronyms. In recent years, as this colloquial writing has become more common and, consequently, more acceptable, it has filtered into spoken communication. The inclusion of this language in acceptable speech has diminished decorous language and has caused an influx of meaningless, unintelligent chatter.
Technology is important in modern society and it is important that we embrace the advances in communication provided by technology. However, we must not allow this progress to deconstruct our languages and our ability to form interpersonal relationships through meaningful conversation. Technology should enhance our lives, not overrun them. When speaking, we must remember to say something worth listening to. When in conversation, we must put the phone or tablet away, look our company in the eye, and enjoy the moment as it occurs.