Now this sounds a bit depressing.  According to recent research by a company called Aviva almost half of families’ text each other while in the same house.

Aviva surveyed 2,800 adults and found the following:

  • 32% are guilty of tapping out messages on mobiles when we want to talk to someone under the same roof
  • That figure increases to 45% in households with children
  • Phones are used during family meal times in 33% of households
  • 20% households say someone in their home can’t ‘switch off’
  • Social media leads to losing sleep in 25% households
  • 44% of household with children say they’ve experienced people ignoring conversations because they were distracted by their phone

Have you experienced a similar situation in your household or with your children?

Technology has greatly improved our lives, there is no doubt about that, but at what cost?

The problem is especially in the younger generation where they use their smart phones in just about every aspect of their lives.  It appears to me that they are forgoing face to face discussions with their friends and associates, instead replacing those face to face discussions with texting on their phones.

The question is how that will affect them when they must actually have face to face conversations.  Also when attempting to have a discussion via text you lose the nuance of that conversation.  Were they joking, smiling while saying what they wrote and how in depth can you get on a subject when texting or emailing.

What will happen when they are forced to have face to face conversation in their working life?

Will they be able to handle face to face confrontation or rejection?

Will they be able to speak with someone face to face who is disagreeing with them and not have that discussion turn into an argument?

Will they be able to resolve a disagreement, or agree to disagree while directly in front of someone who disagrees with them?

On line people feel empowered to say whatever that want to say no matter how crass or mean it is.

We then move on to the issue of attempting to have discussions via text or email and the nuances in a conversation and what someone is attempting to explain.  Many times listeners of mine who do not want to call into the show to speak with me on-air attempt to engage in a conversation via email or Facebook posting.  These conversations usually involve policy issues that cannot be fully discussed in the confined space of email or Facebook posting.  When I ask them to call into the show to better discuss their thought or concern of what I am saying they refuse and tell me that I do not want to discuss the issue via email or posting because I cannot defend my position.  They do not seem to understand that they are possibly the ones who cannot defend their position in a face to face discussion because there may be questions I raise that they are unable to answer or it undermines their position.

Technology is great and has improved our lives immensely but we cannot let the art of face to face discussion take a back seat to technology.

The Live with Renk show airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts call (269) 441-9595

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