The cell

If we let the world keep on spinning the way it is, before we know it, human contact will be extinct.  Everything we want is literally at our fingertips.  You can order delivery, deposit checks, send a message to a friend while ignoring a call from another, pay a debt via Venmo and confirm your reservation for the weekend all from the comfort of your couch in a matter of moments.  Conversation has become rare.  While our patience gets smaller and convenience gets quicker, individuals become more and more isolated.  In a world with over 7 billion people in it, we don’t have to speak to a single one of them to get through the day anymore.  We are more connected today than ever before, but going viral doesn’t mean you’re not alone.

To prove my point, I bought a laptop last week and didn’t even have to take out my wallet.  In case anyone is wondering, I have been writing on my iPad/miniHP for 7 years.  Let that sink in.  In fact, I wrote last week’s post on my iPad because I forgot I had a computer.  I haven’t had a new adult-sized computer since 2001.  Don’t do the math, it’s terrifying.  If I can use an iPad as my main writing source WITHOUT a keyboard, than this pumpkin can certainly be my chariot.  This world is getting crazy.  I clicked a few buttons and was handed two giant bags of awesome.  It felt like the nerdiest dream I’ve ever had.

If I’m being honest, I’d say that 90% of my communication via my phone is through text message.  I rarely call anyone.  If I can’t do something online and have to make a phone call, I actually have caught myself double checking to ensure it’s a last resort option.  I was texting with someone the other day when they called me.  I practically threw my phone across the room.  I’m not even joking.  I gasped out loud, dropped my phone and ran to hide in the bathroom.  Naturally.  Actual phone calls require focus, time and a little bit of commitment.  Apparently that was too taxing for me at the time.  How millennial of me.

I’ll be 100 with you, if someone calls me, I assume they’ve been kidnapped or somebody has died.  #Fact  Whenever my mom calls me, my heart drops into the floor.  Hello is replaced with “what happened?”  Hint:  call more often, mom.  Leisurely phone calls, if ever, are made while in the car driving from here to there, while we are waiting for something, or when we are walking somewhere.  It can be concluded that the majority of phone calls are made in an effort to kill time.  Which on one hand is sad but on the other hand makes sense because we make an effort when we can.  A true 1995 phone conversation is hard to come by anymore.  Consider it a special occasion.  Or I might just be drunk…ask my family.

When did we become so afraid of conversation?  I used to talk on the phone for HOURS.  I only started texting my senior year of college, when you had to push 5 three times if you needed an L.  Keep in mind this was before unlimited texting was available so it had to be CIA classified important and to the point.  Nowadays, full blown conversations are had through texts.  Breakups happen via text.  Arguments are had via text.  Even sex is had via text.  How did we get so lazy?  Texts have no voice, no intonation, no emphasis on any syllables and yet this is the most common form of communication today.  I can’t tell you the amount of times miscommunication has occurred because something wasn’t read the way I intended it.  Again, this is not a great format for sarcasm which is my native language.

Conversation is important.  It is no surprise to me that we have generations that were brought up in technology filled homes now flooded with social disorders.  As amazing as technology is, it also puts a certain distance between you and the rest of the world…even the people who are in the same room as you.  It seems we would rather waste our time on Facebook arguing with a guy named Rob we’ve never met than share an actual conversation with someone who truly matters.  Nothing can replace human touch.  Nothing is better than a hug, someone else’s hand in yours, seeing another person smile because of something you said, shared laughter or an actual kiss.  We could all use a break from the screens and take a little more time each day to be present.  That being said, I hope you have chosen a socially acceptable time to read this…and if you haven’t, THANK YOU for your support and get back out there!  Do your part in keeping conversation, sanity and real-life relationships alive!  It’s way more important than that snapchat, I promise.