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Communication is defined as "the
imparting or exchange of information, ideas, or feelings ; something
communicated, such as a message, letter, or telephone call". There
are also those aspects of communication, such as gestures and facial
expressions, that do not involve verbal communication but which may
include nonverbal aspects of speech itself (accent, tone of voice,
speed of speaking, body language, etc.)……those particular aspects
which are absent in an email or a text message. Texting has indeed,
crippled our emotional integrity and our incentive to look one
another in the eye.
I was sitting in a local eatery several months ago and I will never
forget what was going on at the table next to me. There was a
grown-up couple and about 3 kids. The kids were texting one another
AT THE TABLE. Since there were three of them, I am guessing that the
two older ones were talking about the younger one, who may or may
not have had a phone, or perhaps they were talking about the
grownups. At least they were quiet, and continued on with their
texting while the grown ups chatted endlessly amongst themselves,
with little regard to the wee ones. Something seemed terribly wrong.
So is what the family dinner table has become?
It has taken millions of years for the world to find effective ways
to communicate effectively with one other. Even back in the
Prehistoric Days, before the onset of the English language, the
locals had to scribble pictures on the wall of a cave whilst evoking
all kinds of emotion in the process to get their ideas across to one
another. This at least required thought. Then, with the onset of
technology, the silent film industry evolved from talking without
words to actually auditory entertainment. However, in the silent
movies, the gestures and body language themselves were obvious
enough to decipher, so the meanings were still quite "readable".
The digital age has no doubt become responsible for stupefying most
of the world, especially the young people. Texting, definitely not a
new subject to be "talked" about, has gotten totally out of hand,
and I am also guilty, but just stating the facts here. I'll be the
first one to say that texting has saved me oodles of time in many
arenas. Texting has made it easy for us to become physically and
emotionally lazy. Because of the simplicity of texting, many of us,
especially young people, are losing sight of what it is to use real
sentences with correct punctuation and correct spelling, as well as
interpersonal communication with each other.
The worst thing about texting in my opinion, is the void of
face-to-face interaction. It makes it entirely too easy to lie to
someone due to the lack of body language and actual synergy between
human beings. Oh, but wait. Let's not forget about emoticons. Though
quick and humorous, they are no substitute for real anger and tears.
Of course, you can always use ALL CAPS for the anger part I suppose
and an "un" smiley face for sadness. Some even go so far as to use
texting for "break-ups", and of course, one can just simply not
return the texts, which can often mean a number of things from not
actually hearing the phone, battery dying out, phone being lost or
having fallen in the toilet, to sheer avoidance, the equivalent of
not answering the door. Either way, I guess you can say that it IS
in some respects, communication, but not necessarily the personal
kind.
I can appreciate that the world is evolving, but is it really? I
might say quite the contrary. I mean, when you have a table full of
people and some of them are texting, something is terribly wrong.
Since the onset of the computer, communication as we know it has
become faster, deadlines get met much more efficiently, but as far
as effective communication goes…..well there is a communication
breakdown…on many levels. It all started with e-mailing. I remember
seeing this cartoon several years back where this man walks into a
florist underneath a "say it with flowers" sign and asks for 3
flowers. The florist looking rather puzzled handed him only 3
flowers, then the man said, "I'm a man of a few words". At least
that guy was communicating the old fashioned way, and not sending an
"e-card". I don't know about you, but I like getting letters in the
mail sealed with wax, and with real handwriting. I realize that
texting most assuredly has its good points. It comes in handy when
you are running late, respond with a quick yes or no, let someone
know that you are thinking of him/her or want to give your loved one
a quick goodnight and send him/her a kiss (the emoticon for kiss is
a smiley face sans the outer parenthesis and an asterisk *). I am,
however, still a believer of some form of verbal communication and
when I am not at work, I try to communicate with verbal and
non-verbal gestures. There is nothing quite like the middle finger.
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