No one has confused me with a technological savant, to date. The Tick Tock Hall of Fame has yet to phone. My influencer potential appears limited. That said, like a vast majority, I would confess to an excess of screen time. Phones, pads, lap and desktops. Streaming, blogging, socializing. It’s the irony of the last digital immersion… online social engagement… that should give us pause and reason to talk. Because we’re not doing as much of that anymore. Talking.
What do you think? Leave your comment below after this Tru Blog post.
How so, you say (think)?
Test Your Digital Etiquette
Before you call an old friend these days… you text.
Instead of chatting up family at home… you scroll.
Rather than watching TV together… you stream.
Classroom instruction has yielded to… virtual leaning.
Employment is isolated when you… work from home.
Smarter, Faster, Connected?
Don’t misunderstand. The limitless reach of the computer chip and now AI and everything in between have made us smarter, or at least better informed, and you would think more connected. But are we? If connected translates to within digital reach… OK, yes. We’re unwired together. But what about relationships? Or at least conversation?
Hold the Phone Just a Minute
Not planning to ponder all of this, I looked around at the airport the other day waiting on a delayed flight. No one looked at me. Or, heaven forbid, spoke. Peering over an actual newspaper (WSJ), I must have looked like a Martian. It struck me that my last century news choice was part of a more prominent contrast. The magnetic nature of digital content seemed to isolate everyone into their own space. I mentally assembled a focus group of the closest 25 people seated nearby.
Zero people chatting.
One phone talker.
One book reader.
Three snackers.
And no surprise, 19 phone-to-face forever folks.
That’s 76%. You can’t get 76% of anyone to do or agree about anything in this day and time… unless it’s the necessity and personal need to have within reach… a phone. And not for talking. Granted, travel is hard. Maybe 19 people were checking their boarding pass? The truth is that 19 souls could be doing 19 different things because we know the phone is that versatile. And our digital lives that consuming.
When Talking Stopped and Phone Love Began
Not that any of this is a surprise to you or me, who have a device in our hand or close now and always. But it’s what we lose when we gain the phone as a fav friend that separates us. It began about 15 years ago. The smart phones had arrived. No longer was the phone simply for conversation. It became useful for communication. And then entertainment. And more. Working in television broadcasting for decades, I recall research in that era predicted the preferred device – if I could only have one or the other, is it a phone or TV? That’s no brain today, but then, it puzzled me that TV was in the rearview mirror. I get it now. All phone all the time.
How to Re-humanize
All of that said and understood about the incredible digital age that dictates our living and lives… how are your relationships? Had a real person-to-person conversation lately? Miss human interaction even a little?
Here are three simple suggestions to re-humanize if you believe your digital life dominates:
- Invite someone to lunch – talk with them and pocket your phone the entire time
- Attend a group event, party, ballgame, church, whatever – engage people with eye contact and conversation
- Call an old friend – talk like you did way back when
There’s No Going Back
Our digital life is here for good. Your device goes with you everywhere. Raise your eyes, though, and your outlook will rise as well. See who’s out there. Talk with them… develop a relationship or just chat. Maybe even make a friend. You can live life in the here and now… and keep your phone too.
