“Hey good seeing you, make sure you call me when you get home!”
“Yeah good seeing you as well, I’ll text you later!”

Why call when you can just text?
Is what you have to tell me that important for you to have to do the unthinkable.
Is it really necessary for you to actually pick up the phone to *Dramatic Pause* CALL me???

We live in world that looks to sum up everything in 160 characters or less. First through the use of text messaging and more recently due to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. When do people ever have the chance to actually speak to each other? While I am an advocate of social media (even puts food on my table), sometimes I wonder if its ease and convenience is hurting people more often than it is helping them.

I can barely remember the last time I’ve literally laughed aloud at something someone has said, opposed to the over frequently used “Lol”. So much time is spent engaging online that offline communication, also known as talking is becoming a lost art. To put things in perspective, over 700 billion minutes are spent per month on Facebook, and over 2.5 billion texts are sent each day. I’m convinced that people will soon be able to recognize font types better than they are able to determine a person’s emotional state through voice levels and body language.

While every social media site aims to make interactions more personal, *cliche alert* why recreate the wheel? There’s nothing more personal than a face to face conversation. Trapped within the constraints of 160 characters, we can’t fully utilize the complexity of thought. With so many short thoughts, I won’t be surprised at the underdevelopment of short-minded individuals. A society of people unable to fully articulate their thoughts through speech. No longer being known to have a gift-of-gab but rather the gift-of-Mark or gift-of-Neil.

Conversation is critical for building relationships. Being able to verbally express yourself helps people to know who you are. It also lessens the risk of miscommunication caused by words on a screen. Too often have I seen text conversations go wrong simply because words don’t have emotions attached. There’s only so many times you can uppercase your words to get your point across. Facebook, Twitter, and texting is a world where sarcasm can be lost without the proper placement of a “haha”. I firmly believe emotion is one of the last proofs of human existence. My fear is that through lack of authentic/organic conversation, emotion is misdirected and sometimes even unnoticed.

Summary 160

You’re typing is bruising more than your keypad. It won’t hurt to have actual conversation from time to time. Talking is natural and it won’t kill you, PROMISE.

Terrence Whittaker Jr.
Ellodigsby