To Text or Not to Text, that is the question…
Don’t get me wrong I do enjoy texting! The problem begins when we believe that a text message is actually the “best” way to communicate. For thousands of years the human spirit has been driven and moved by the sound of a voice, body language and the passion in a persons eyes. When communicating by text, all of this is lost. Plus, if we’re honest, I think we can agree that texting is actually a pretty lazy way of of communicating.
One day after school my daughter said that three girls asked for her phone number that day in order to communicate with each other over the summer. I thought that sounded great and I was happy for her. What I did not understand was that because she didn’t have a cell phone, when she offered them her home number they said no thanks because all they wanted to do was to text her and not actually talk to her. That made her cry and made me very sad as well.
Let’s do our best in the world of technology to teach our children that actually hearing a persons voice is extremely important. Face to face communication with a friend, will deepen our relationships and make us better listeners.
Do you text your friends more often than you call them? The other thing I always think is, be an example to my children, don’t text while I am driving!
jenniferbreland
I worked for AT&T for a while, best call I ever had… father was going down the road and asked to have texting removed from his Family account and put a block on all lines. I found this an odd request (uncommon at best), so I asked why? He stated that his three kids are on vacation with the family, sitting in the back seat texting each other. He longed for showing his family the country as well as the “are we there yet” comments from the back seat. I applauded him.
Thank you so much Mikel for sharing this story. I really desire for family’s to understand how important it is to actually talk to one another. I believe we have to be intentional about sharing with our loved ones the importance of good old fashion communication.
If I get my daughter her first cell phone (if cell phones haven’t been replaced by something else)… it will be a simple flip phone with a voice plan. And not till she needs it according to MY standards, not hers. She will need one as soon as her friends in 2nd grade have them… I think she will need one when she starts after-school activities or gets a job… so I’m safe for another 8-10 years… *laugh* Part of me hopes her mother stays too poor to get her a cell phone.