We all tweet, text, snap, and direct message each other. That’s just how this crazy world talks these days. But are we REALLY talking or is all of that typing just a habit now?
I mean people didn’t used to hid behind a screen or phone, they were actually pretty happy to talk to each other. And believe it or not, they survived boring conversations just as easily as having a fantastic one with someone you care about. And if they can do that, maybe we should bring back how they talked to each other.
The telephone.
This seems like a no brainer, it was the first way of speak to people when they weren’t close by anyway. And we all walk around with a phone in our pockets, but when was the last time we actually used the phone function instead of everything else? And when was the last time we talked on the phone for something besides work and had a great conversation? You know, the kind that goes on for hours and hours because you don’t run out of things to say because you haven’t heard their voice in so long?
Yeah, those phone calls exist. Texting is easier and faster so we’ve forgotten the simple thrill of hearing someone laugh on the other end of the phone when we tell them something funny. Instead we’re happy just getting a “lol” message back. Texting is not a substitute for real emotion though, and talking is a hell of a lot less confusing than deciphering text messages for hours!
In person.
Yep, no virtual experiences here. If our grandparents or their friends wanted to see someone, they didn’t facetime them, they went to their house and knocked on the door. It sounds like a crazy idea, but there’s still something so fantastic about looking into someone’s eyes and seeing their facial reactions when you talk to them and when they listen to you.
Things like facetime and Skype have definitely made it easier to keep in touch with people we can’t necessarily walk or drive to see. But that doesn’t mean that face to face conversations should be replaced with on-screen ones either. And plus, you kind of have to meet people to, you know, have any kind of social life anyway.
The letter.
Oh the letter! We’ve all heard stories about how maybe our grandparents wrote hundreds of letters to each other during wars or how friends who lived far away wrote each other to keep in touch. We can hold them in our hands but the concept of writing THAT much to someone and not receiving a reply for maybe two weeks boggles our minds! As hard as it is to believe though, since there were no other options, this is how people talked back in the day.
We can have the digital version if we all type novels out on our phones, but our fingers would hurt like hell afterwards! And twenty somethings may not know this as well as their parents or grandparents, but there’s nothing like getting ACTUAL mail! Email doesn’t really compare to cards or little notes in our mail boxes.
You probably haven’t hand written anything since elementary or middle school, but believe it or not, pens and loose leaf paper still exist. Letters don’t always have to be sappy love letters, maybe just a quick jotted down thought to someone you haven’t talked to in awhile. It’s a safe guarantee that you’ll get a reply back, or wait for it, even a thank you phone call.
