Compromising communication
Let me be the first to say, well at least one of the first to say that I called this a couple of years ago when texting first started becoming popular, “There is going to come a time when communication skills get compromised and many misunderstandings are going to happen!” Well folks, right here right now is that time! All bets are off as this prediction has come to fruition–communication skills are going down the toilet because the quality of communication sucks!
Remember back in the day when communication differences were believed to be pretty big, dare I propose enormous between men and women when it came to effectively communicating at an emotional level? Men communicated at the surface level, while women dug below the surface, going deeper, sometimes “all the way to China town” because they wanted an emotion tied to the statement. Furthermore, the statement had to possess some underlying emotional meaning.
Just how did most men respond to this? Well, most men asked, “What the f…?, while the more mild-mannered men simply said, “That’s all I got!” Cue in the interplanetary communication differences between men and women–Mars versus Venus! And along came 2012…
People are texting out of habit, most on autopilot.
In fact, most are trying to get as many words on the tiny face of their cell phones in as short of period as possible. What does this mean? Words are being communicated in short-cuts, abbreviations, icons (see lol, ;=), etc) and this is confusing to many, especially women! Do you know why? Texting is creating “stereotypes” also known as shortcuts to perceptions. When this happens, people begin assuming. And when people assume, they are doing so from their own vantage point of perception, or how they are currently feeling/wanting to interpret something. Also, text messages contain little if any emotion because they are just too short.
What does this mean?
Once again, the receiver of the text is often left to decipher or interpret the feeling behind the text…ah, not a good thing! What kinds of problems do you think this is causing?
Well, to whet your appetite just a little…okay a lot before my next blog, here are a few things to consider. Women/females tend to text more than men, quite often! Women who once “loved” the underlying meaning within communication because their “sista’s in communication” spoke the same emotional lingo are emotionlessly degraded to texting. And at the time of writing this, doing research and receiving personal information on texting, it is not uncommon for females and probably some males to send as many as 20,000 to 30,000 texts per month!
Yes, you heard me correctly–two different friends reported text histories with daughters running up those monthly text tallies. And the ramifications are? Communication skills, no matter if you are male or female, or what planet you are from are going down the proverbial toilet…flush!
Stay tuned for blogs on the disintegration of relationships as well as how to send efficient yet meaning intended texts.
