How I Communicate

As the years have passed, and as I have changed as a person, the ways in which I communicate with others on a daily basis have also changed.

When I was younger, writing letters on paper or over email was my main mode of communication. After moving to Maryland however, this is the only way I could communicate with my New York friends. We wrote letters back and forth for nearly four years. However, this changed with the invention of cell phones. Texting allowed me to hear back from my New York friends in a matter of minutes, instead of having to wait days for a response. In the past year, I have written only one letter.

Today, my cell phone is almost too important in my daily life. I almost always have it with me, and I have only turned it off a couple times in the last year. I admit that texting has become an obsession of mine. For me, it’s so much easier and more convenient than calling someone, especially if I’m in the library or on my way to class.

However, since entering college, I spend more time actually talking on the phone. In high school, I saw my friends almost every day, so phone calls were not necessary. Now that we are spread out at schools all over the East Coast, a simple text message is simply not adequate enough. I call my parents almost every night, and my brother in Salisbury at least once a week to get help with my biology homework.

Overall, technologies such as instant messaging and text messaging have weakened the grammar skills of today’s youth. Words and phrases have been shortened to only a few letters, and spelling errors are common, and even accepted. I know that sometimes when I’m typing papers, I used the shortened version of a word without even realizing it. Texting is allowing our already lazy society to become even more careless and lax.

Face to face communication has been drastically eliminated by the rising use of text messaging. There are people who text their friends who are sitting right next to them. This phenomenon may be a result of our growing need for privacy. It is much more convenient for us to text a secret to our friend sitting across the room, then to actually get up and leave.

Even the older generation is starting to get involved. My parents have recently discovered texting, and feel as though they’re obligated to text me every day to make sure that I’m eating well and getting enough sleep. Before, I would have never imagined that I would be getting text messages from my parents.

Social networking sites such as myspace and facebook have also changed the way in which we communicate. Facebook has almost become an obsession among college students. Instead of talking in person, we write on each other’s walls or comment on our friends’ latest statuses. Like texting, this has cut down on face-to-face communication. It’s easier to message someone when they’re on their facebook, then to actually pick up the phone and call them.

With these latest technologies, face to face communication is slowly declining. In my opinion, this is a growing problem. In life, it’s important to be able to speak effectively with others. Because of text messaging and instant messaging, we are slowly losing these valuable and necessary skills.
I look forward to doing the media deprivation project over spring break. It will be interesting to see how long I can go without having my cell phone constantly with me.