MEANINGFUL COMMUNICATION

When opening my cell phone today I was appalled to see that I had over 500 messages on my what’s app! It appears that my 10 year old great grandson had mistakenly attached me to his group of friends. After getting over the shock, I realized that I was three generations removed from our youngster and must accept today’s methods of communication. Not that I approve.

Not so long ago, if you wanted to talk with family or friends, you had to use your land line phone. If not at home, there were those iconic phone booths. The phone cord forced us to stay focused, without the flexibility to multitask. The conversation, the person we were speaking to, was what mattered.

Not so long ago, we also used to write letters. Real ones, with a pen and paper. You needed envelopes and stamps and postal workers to deliver them. We used to check our mail boxes every day. I distantly remember the pleasure to be had when receiving a handwritten letter. To sit down, open and read it. Focus, smile and read it again later on in the day. Maybe write back straight away if we felt the urgency to answer.    

The fact is that when communication was more difficult, when it took more patience, effort, and more work, it mattered more.

Today’s young generation have even taken to writing words in abbreviations. Communication has become, like a lot of other things, “instant”. Words are batted to and from at great speed with no real thought or meaning behind them.   

Technology can contribute many positive and amazing changes in our lives. The problem is that it has come at the price of considerably less human interaction. Statistics show that there is far more depression amongst the younger generation than ever before. A greater percent of youngsters have contemplated suicide one time or another. Ironically, the more accessible we are, the less connected we have become.

Conversation isn’t merely the exchange of information. Instead, words serve to establish bonds of personal union between people brought together by the mere need of companionship. Communication creates relationship. Sometimes we call it “staying in touch”, as if it is a physical embrace.

In the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: “In the beginning God created the natural world with words: “And God said: `Let there be`. We created the social world with words. Life is relationship. And human relationships are built through communication”.

So many aspects of our lives are impacted by misinformation. That is why genuine communication is so vital. We must establish a culture in which honest, open, respectful communication takes place. Without it, our world is headed for disaster.