The Fall of the Call
Remember writing letters? Sometime around the invention of email, letter writing became obsolete. I mean, why pick up the phone when a quick email or text will do the trick? According to the latest PEW Research Center's report, most teens talk with their thumbs now.
"63% of all teens say they exchange text messages every day with people in their lives. This far surpasses the frequency with which they pick other forms of daily communication, including phone calling by cell phone (39% do that with others every day), face-to-face socializing outside of school (35%), social network site messaging (29%), instant messaging (22%), talking on landlines (19%) and emailing (6%)."
The increased productivity may come at a price though if connectivity is sacrificed.
Vital Relationships
Communication skills greatly impact the quality of our relationships, and since we receive all our opportunities through other people, it’s vital that the skills needed to communicate effectively are taught and practiced. As technology evolves we’re challenged to keep in mind that, as we advance in our ability to connect to more people, two essential elements of connection are still required.
1. We need to understand the meaning of the incoming messages.
2. We need to know that our messages are being understood by others.
21 Century Connection
How we do this in the 21 century will undoubtedly bear little resemblance to grandma’s letter or your mother’s phone call. Knowing this frees us from expecting the same kind of rapport in the virtual environment while it challenges us to find ways to personally connect through the texted message. One place to start is by creating caring conversations.
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