Human Communication v. Instant Message

Lets face it, there is no turning back at this point. Our society has passed the point of no return in regards to technical communication. Almost everyone has at least a cell phone, laptop, itouch, ipod. But everyone can get access to the internet, and that is all that is needed for instant messaging. For those of you living under rocks, instant messaging is usually offered by many email websites as an added benefit. It is a pop-up that allows you to instantly communicate with any of your contacts that are online. It is a way to have an instant conversation, similar to a real life conversation over the internet.

It is understandable that you are not always in the same place as the person you want to talk to, and walking to their house, for example, would be ridiculous. My question is then why not simply call the person and have a normal conversation? Why has technology taken over in a way to draw us apart from friends, family, and spouses? There really is no answer to this question, or why we have allowed it to take control.

There are so many benefits to having a verbal conversation, even over the telephone, in contrast to instant messaging. The sound of a person's tone can really clarify the thin lines between sarcasm, attitude, or bad humor. An "I love you" seems more meaningful in the voice of your loved one, instead of typed in a screen. The sound of laughter can never fully be translated into typed text. In my opinion "LOL" is just insufficient for a good laugh with a friend! Although I will admit, instant messaging really avoids the awkward silence that sometimes creeps into phone conversations. Yet, this seems like a small price to pay for hearing a real person's voice at the other end of a telephone line.

We need to make an effort to put the brakes on technology, and limit it from taking over our social lives. There is no need to log on to a computer, create an account, have your friend log on, create a chat, and then type the message. The simple answer is just to call, and have a simple yet memorable conversation over the phone. It only takes the click a few buttons and the call is made. The conversation is then even more "instant" than instant messaging. You may ask how can it be more instant than instant messaging?!? It is very simple, when instant messaging many people often surf the internet and at times miss a message or two. Yet on the phone there is no hoping the other person got the message. There is also no uncertainty about whether they are not responding to the message because of the topic or their distractions.

If you find yourselves only communicating via instant message, STOP! Remember what you are missing out on: laughter, clarity, unambiguous conversations, and so much more. Keep human communication alive in this technologically based world we live in. Remember, Instant messaging is fine, but in moderation!!