by Melody Hearndon

Created on: November 17, 2011

The way we communicate with one another continues to grow exponentially. We continue to live in an instantaneous society. With that being said, we are constantly inundated by technology that continues to catapult us forward whether we like it or not. With so many options and devices for communicating, it’s no wonder we fail to communicate properly and or directly. For example…

Texting

How many texts do you send out or respond to on a daily basis? Texting allows us to correspond (which is not the same thing as communicating) instantly. A few taps on your cell phone keyboard and viola your message is sent, via cyberspace, and you feel as though you’ve conversed? Really?

When we communicate face to face, we are privy to so much more with regards to the conversation. There’s eye contact, body language, tone, and the other person’s presence alone. Conversation is more than sharing information. It’s a ritual much like the ebb and flow of the ocean.

When we become dependent on devices to speak for us, instead of ourselves…one’s already set up for failure. Doesn’t a conversation deserve more than that?

Instant Messaging

As an instant expecting and demanding society, we are inundated with instant messaging. Whether it’s via your computer, cell phone, Facebook or other social media, it’s quickly caught on and replaced one on one conversation.

No matter the icons available for display via texting, instant messaging or via social media, nothing compares to our visual contact when engaged in conversation. There’s not an icon imaginable that can replace the look on someone’s face when they hear good news or bad news. It’s all perspective and what matters most.

Mobile Devices

The key word to this is…mobile. Everywhere we go, someone’s walking with their head down, focusing on some device that they couldn’t imagine living without. These devices once helpful, have literally taken society by storm.

The main reason I purchased a cell phone was for an emergency situation. What would happen if my car broke down and I was stranded perhaps in an unsafe location? Being able to contact someone in an emergency is fabulous; however I’m still stranded until help comes. This is a clear message about irony.

Human existence has always depended upon some form of communication. Just look at the Hieroglyphic’s that still continue to tell stories from the past. We are all connected via communication albeit by device, with a device or in spite of a device.

Communication is a two way street. It requires participation between one another. It’s not so much the contraptions and devices that cause us to fail at communication. It’s the lack of interest and priorities that fail us as a whole because we’re too caught up in this fast-paced lifestyle and in the end…it’s what we don’t communicate to one another that lead to our failure as communicators. 

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