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We live in an age where communication has made so being in touch with those we love so much easier. We can see and hear and communicate with the ones we love no matter if they are just downstairs or on the other side of the world… and we do it
How many of you have Twitted your OH whilst sitting in the same room? I know I have… and I know that it is common place in some households.
But is that really communicating?
Don’t take me wrong… I find it great that my dad who lives in Brazil can see my 10 month old son form the other side of a screen and comment on how much he has grown… And see his face when he smiles and when my eldest shows him his latest trick with a computer or a pencil or his latest gameplay thing.
But is that really communicating?
I had a bit of a breakdown this morning… That’s when I realised that to be able to communicate TO those who love at any time doesn’t necessarily mean that you are communicating WITH those you love.
We are human beings… and the need to commune. It is written in our genetic code. And by commune I don’t mean Skypeing, Texting, Twitting… I mean old fashion time face to face contact.
Technology has brought closer… but it has also taken us apart in ways that we can only imagine.
We broadcast our thoughts and whatever happens to us as things happen in so many ways that when we are finally face to face we have nothing to say… So we rely in even more technology to ensure we spend time together and sit over dinner to watch TV.
And we get stuck in this cycle as we fail to communicate and because we don’t really communicate we fail to really commune.
Communication is the key to everything… I should know that…
Want to do an experiment with me?
Spend a whole day without broadcasting everything you do… The when you get home… when you are with those you love actually spend time telling each other what you did during the day. Put your phone, computer, laptop whatever, away… turn the TV off… Spend time together… REALLY together… (you are excused if you live alone… but you can always make this ONE phone call at the end of the day).
Do it for a week… You will see that you are not as close as you imagine. There is ALWAYS room for improvement.
Is Technology bringing us together? Or taking us Apart?
Having met and fallen in love with my husband online…. I say yes, just because it’s not face to face, voice to voice, doesn’t mean it’s not real communication. I’d argue in some ways it’s more real, text communication, because there’s nothing of physical attributes/looks/smell coming in to it
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I’ve met my ex-wife and my Girlfriend bot online. I agree there can be communication online… but you have ato agree… it does miss the touch… and the thrill to be able to tell someone face to face with a huge hug some great nws that happened during the day… that is just awesome isn;t it???
hmmm intermeresting! I can see where you’re coming from, a lot of people now aren’t comfortable talking in person because they feel safer behind a screen.
I made/make a point of communicating verbally with partners because I honestly think that if you love someone then it is incredibly important.
And on an irrelevant note: it stops me working!
lol… we all know technology stops you working… and how…
lol
I used to thing communicating from behind a screen was the best thing ever invented… it was… safe
but from a few years not I come to realize that there is no better way to communicate than verbally… physically even…
we need the touch…
Great blog and something that has been on my mind for a while. I worry I spend too much time online.
Humans, animals-we all need face to face contact and love (as well as food and water of course!). People are often fooled into thinking they don’t need to ‘really’ communicate with others as they can just send a text or an email and gradually it’s so commonplace that everything from birth announcements to bereavements are just a click away. Doesn’t this lead to people becoming more insular and lonely? The other problem with all these social networking sites are you bump into someone you’ve not seen for a while and don’t even need to ask them what they’ve been up to-you’ve seen it all on twitter and then some. So the moral of the story is take a break from the computer, pick up the phone and arrange to meet your loved ones face to face, you’ll feel better for it! Logging off…
My point exactly… I too spend too long in front of a computer and have just realised that half the time I don’t have what to talk about with my friends and family because I already know everything that is going on in their lives through one social network or another. I’ve taken the decision to cut my social networking time and even the amount of text messages I sent when I noticed that one night I didn’t have what to alk about with my Girlfriend… pretty awful huh??
There are some family friends who live in the Lowcountry of SC. They have an agreement that they are not allowed to talk to each other during the day except in case of emergency. At the end of the day they meet in their backyard hot tub with a glass of wine and they tell each other all about their day. How great is that?
oooooohhhhhhh… now THAT sounds awesome!!!