I think it’s ironic how modern technologies have actually made people worse communicators. The excuses of “convenience factor” in how someone can just pick up the phone and call anytime… or just write an email anytime… are pseudo. What it boils down to is this: you either write or you don’t… you either call or you don’t.
I remember when we moved to Thailand, I instantly got half a dozen penpals from my circle of friends — even ones I didn’t know so well. One nice thing about good old snail mails is the sense of anticipation in waiting for something that someone actually put some effort into doing for you.
Writing a letter, at least for me at that time, really meant something. I’d write when it was calm, usually at night. I’d carefully read through what was in each letter and carefully respond to or spend some time thinking about what I’d write in these letters — each written to suit the personality, ongoing conversation or the mood of that specific letter. And I felt the same thing from the letters I received. I enjoyed that.
Fast forward to the Internet era. Emails have made communication fast and easy. There’s now less “anticipation” factor in waiting. Instead of waiting for days or even weeks, gratification can be had right NOW. But because of this convenience made possible by the technology, I’ve noticed people just become “lazy”… Emails have become trivial. And these emails get shorter and shorter every year.
At first they are “here’s what I’ve been up to” emails. Then they are “just want to say hi”. And then eventually they become links to articles or news with minimal word descriptions. To some people, this is their way of saying, “I thought about you when I saw this,” or “I though you might like this.” But ultimately, even these emails rarely appear in the “inbox” anymore.
I’ve sent quite a bit of emails with links and short blurbs about what I think about something contained in that link to people. But more than likely I’d get cold shoulders. I am not sure if they got it, liked it/didn’t like it, didn’t care for it or they even bothered to open the link(s).
After a while, I stop sending them links or even “hello” emails. It takes two to communicate. Right?
Technology has made life more convenient than ever. Unfortunately, it has also made life busier than ever. Consequently, technology becomes an excuse for not having time of the day to communicate.
But of course there are those who AWALYS have a spare minute to write about or reply to even the most trivial things just to keep a conversation going (you know who you are!). And I think that really kicks ass.