It's a Brave New (Text Messaging) World

I've never been good at talking on the phone. I get distracted easily, or someone calls and it's just not a good time and I forget to call back, or both parties aren't completely engaged and the conversation quickly devolves into a boring, very detailed explanation of what exactly happened to the garden this week.*

There are certain people with whom it's just easier. My family, for instance, or certain friends that are actually able to keep my attention by being interesting. I have more than 200 contacts in my phone, and rarely do I talk (via phone) to more than five of them for more than a minute at a time. Is that a bad thing?

I read with fascination all the despairing articles about how our children are spending 7 hours a day texting each other from the same room. "Oh no, they'll never develop people skills!" First of all, come on, it's your fault for giving your 10-year-old a cell phone. It's no surprise that teeny boppers everywhere have embraced the 2010 version of passing notes in class. "But," these naysayers complain, "People don't just interact anymore. Communication has been stunted by social media and instant availability. Whatever happened to a good, old-fashioned, Nebraska-style visitin' session? Bring over some pie and let's play Mexican dominoes and talk international politics."

No?

Okay, well, all that is crap. Technology has done amazing things for communication. People may technically (PUN ALERT) be constantly available, but all these alternate routes of communication have ensured that we're only available when we want to be. If you don't want to answer an email for a few hours, that's fine. Turn off your Blackberry and put up an away message. Phone calls -- especially those that could have been dealt more efficiently with a text or email -- interrupt whatever you're doing, whether it's a good time or not.

Of course, sometimes it's a treat to get a phone call. Last night a high school friend that I haven't talked to in a year or two called and we talked for almost an hour. It helps that she doesn't have Facebook** (and I don't even know her email address), so we had a lot to catch up on.

My point is that there's a middle ground between refusing to accept that communication is fundamentally changing and metaphorically burning phone calls at the stake. It's rare but refreshing to read an article that casts this change in the way we communicate in a positive light, but you can count on Wired to lead the way. In writer Clive Thompson's view, phone calls simply aren't an efficient communication method, and it's a good thing that people are spending less time on the phone. His article, published a couple of weeks ago, was an interesting read, and made me feel less guilty about preferring texting over phone calls 90% of the time. It's just more efficient, people.

Check out the article here.

* Let it be known, I'm not a gardener. The fact that my office plant is still alive dumbfounded me until I talked with the lady who cleans my office at night and she told me she watered it regularly. Go figure.
** Hey Hawaii friends -- we gotta get Kanani on Facebook.

Note: I do actually like receiving phone calls. Please call me sometimes.