Routine acts create unconscious–containing almost no awareness– insincere habits: like wearing a watch everyday or being around one scent, eventually the stimulus, or act, appears to fade. Our habits influenced by sporadic texting and tweeting have turned into the norm. We’ve gotten to the point where many parents even neglect to give their children enough attention, which forces kids to compete with technology for attention. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, “young people ages 8 to 18 now spend nearly every waking moment when they are not in school using media — more than 7.5 hours a day.” Imagine all that could be accomplished in all that time, anything from getting extra sleep (something people complain about not having), to hobbies.
It has also been proven a good number of people prefer digital interactions than face-to-face. Over-time this has lead to an increase in lessened face-to-face communication which can ultimately, but not necessarily, weaken our social skills. Many of us know the hesitant, or fearful feeling when you actually have to talk to someone through the phone as opposed to your usual texting. But, not only does it decrease our willingness to converse directly but it also decreases emotion; we can perfectly well type out “I’m sorry”, “I’m okay”, and “I love you” but typing it isn’t the same as saying it, in typing we can mask our true feelings and the person on the other end can’t know the different. There are no voice inflections or facial expressions to hint at the true intent of the speaker–in this case, texter.
This breaks down all stable foundations of sincerity and honesty, it leaves us wondering whether or not the person means what they “say”. We can even become confused or offended in texting conversations because to some people, texting may be equivalent to a regular conversation where no one suddenly stops responding, so when that happens it messes with the sincerity a conversation is supposed to have. Then, when in real life when people are having a supposedly sincere conversation, occasionally one person will whip out their phone and start texting away at another person, taking away their full attention of the person they are actually with. The person who texts while with someone else fails to even attempt to see from their perspective, they assume texting is the “norm” and the person won’t be offended. Sometimes people–including me, who has been in this situation many times–who are trying to construct a sincere and meaningful conversation are hurt with a worthless meaningless feeling that the person, who started absently conversing someone else, believe you’re not worth their full attention. All in all we lose recognition of genuine sincerity and what it means and what it’s worth to give all of ourselves (and all of our time and attention) to another individual: maybe that’s why so many relationships end so frequently or why some relationships fall under the crushing weight of fighting and/or miss-communication. There is strength in patient, sincere, humility. 
Thank you so much! I appreciate the honest feedback! I’ve noticed myself i tend to rant on unnecessarily from time to time. 🙂 I am glad you can enjoy and relate to my blog!
Erin, very interesting blog! As a committed flip-phone user for all four years of high school, I got a lot of heat for not having a “normal phone.”
I would be careful about coming across as too critical because it could seem like a rant from time to time (which is good in the sense that it shows you care what you’re writing about, but maybe try to be aware of the rant-trap). But yeah, just be sure to keep a somewhat positive tone…saying stuff like “But luckily we’re capable of resisting this trend by…” or “Take some time out of your day to turn off all technology” yannow, stuff like that that makes it seem less like the technology-user is being chastised.
It might seem like I’m being really critical but those are just little things. As a whole I really really like your blog. You are a VERY good writer, and that comes through even in these short blog posts. Keep up the good work!
Hi Erin! I like your post, and I agree that technology can reduce the emotional aspect of communication. The words “I’m sorry” viewed on a screen definitely don’t have the same effect as those same words in face-to-face conversation when coupled with mannerisms, facial expressions, etc. I can see how it can be a bit annoying when people use Bluetooth headsets in a public place, but personally I don’t have a problem with it as long as it’s in a place where it’s appropriate to talk on a cell phone in the first place. However, I’d like to learn more about the statistic you mention in the opening paragraph–is that just 7.5 hours a day using technology outside of school? Because while there are certainly many unproductive things you can do with technology, I find that most productive things I do are in fact conducted with the use of technology. So while some of those 7.5 hours is probably wasted time, maybe not all of that time is unproductive… Just a thought. Keep up the good work!
I really liked this post. It is for many of the reasons stated in your blog above (lack of emotional cues, tone, face to face interaction) that I prefer face to face interaction and talking on the phone, as opposed to texting and facebooking. I actually wrote an essay on this during my junior year in high school. We should definitely talk about it.
Great Post!
I love this blog! Technology is such an important part of our lives, but it’s good and bad. I think something that would be interesting to discuss is the incorporation of technology into schools. I can remember in high school I would be on a laptop for half of my classes. Even this blogging assignment is media related. I love the points you bring up each week because it reminds me of how much I rely on technology.
I love reading your blog, and I always find myself agreeing very loudly (in my head) while I read. I understand your stand on technology; I’ve felt that the intense need for technology these days definitely takes away from human interactions. I feel myself losing my ability to pay attention for long periods of time because I need to constantly be on my phone doing something. Another problem I’ve seen with texting is that people will say things that they would not normally say to someone in person. I think that definitely goes along with the insincerity you commented on. Anyway, thanks for posting! I always love reading your posts!
Although your perspective on modern communications technology is not super-unique, it was interesting to read nonetheless. I myself realize the importance of more direct communication whenever I am on the phone for extended periods of time with my dad or a close friend. Meanwhile, sometimes a text conversation ends after just a few texts or so. Now that I don’t see my dad or my close friends from high school anymore, I all the more eagerly await to be able to converse with them in the old fashioned way of in-person communication. By the way, did you know that even in our hyper-connected world, we all spend less time with one another (friends, family, etc.) than we did 50 yrs ago? It’s truly sad, really.
Erin, I really enjoyed this post. I think your position on technology is definitely in the minority, and it’s really interesting to read about. I admit I’m a bit dependent on technology (I have separation anxiety when I don’t have my phone on me) and reading this blog really opened my mind to the benefits of not being tied down by technology. I like what you have to say. Keep it up 🙂
Erin! I love this post! I definitely agree that there is no way that emotions can be displayed through texting. It is always so hard to read a person and grasp their true feelings without hearing the tone of their voice. Yet, I do still like to text. My grandmother would even text sometimes when she learned how, even though she preferred to call just because sometimes it can be more convenient. You had a very creative title and I definitely thought this post was very interesting!
Erin, great title for your blog! That’s what caught my attention and made me want to read your blog. Fun fact: my younger sister got an iPhone before I did and I always used to scold her that she was too attached to her phone and didn’t value our face time enough. Then, I got an iPhone and slowly but surely I’m sure I’ve developed all the same habits she had! Even though I hate to admit it, I think your point about the degradation of face-to-face communication is valid. My best friend texted me yesterday and told me that she broke up with her boyfriend (whom I didn’t care for) but I put on a facade of sympathy through my phone. It’s sad that technology can distort our emotions and communication and I agree with you that those miscommunications lead to trouble in friendships and relationships. Nice blog and good entry this week!