Technology: Is It Changing the Way We Communicate?

Last year, my oldest daughter told me about two teenagers who were out on what she assumed was a date. They sat next to each other, not talking but texting from their phones. Shortly after our conversation, I was at a birthday party for my friend’s daughter. The daughter was rather unhappy with her mother. As we were eating, the girl took out her phone and sent her mother several text messages, telling her how displeased and unhappy she was.

This new phenomena has even changed our language; the word text, a noun, is used as a verb; words are abbreviated, truncated, and generally abused–an Orwellian nightmare.

Last weekend, a friend and I went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We had front row seats. I sat next to a couple, who looked as if they were in the early thirties. My friend and I discussed information in the program, commented on the stage, and chatted about various things before the play started. Sensory details surrounded us: interesting people, odd photos, the white cloth draped stage, and program details. As we conversed, I noticed that the couple next to me wasn’t talking. The man read the newspaper on his electronic device, and the woman texted someone and then surfed the net. The pre-play excitement passed by them. Neither looked at the program, spoke to each other, or bothered to glance at their surroundings. It was a social event, but they weren’t socializing. I made the assumption that they were “fighting.” However, that notion was dispelled when he tapped her on the shoulder and make a comment. She genuinely smiled. They exchanged a couple of sentences and went back to their devices. At intermission, when the rest of the audience was buzzing with talk about the first half of the play, they acted out a repeat performance of their technology isolation.

I just have one  question. What’s going on?

I’m not certain that I can answer that question. I love technology. My friends call me with computer questions. I have an iPad, a blog, a Facebook account, and I have text message ability on my phone and use it, but technology communication is never as satisfying as a conversation with someone on the other end of the phone. When I’m with someone, conversations are more exciting and fun than an email or text message. When I’m with people, I try to enjoy their company and want to hear what they are thinking and feeling. When I’m out, I like to take in my surroundings. I people watch. So, I don’t get burying your head and talking via writing in language that is often truncated when a person is sitting next to you.

We seem to have had a paradigm shift. I’m not certain it’s a good shift.