Texting & The Lost Art of Communication

My cell phone plan allowed me to add a line for only $10 extra a month and included free cell phones. I couldn't resist this great offer and got both of my children their own phones. My son is the youngest of the two and this was his first very own cell phone so I had to explain to him that it was not a toy and was to be used for communicating with me or his sister when away from home. Sometimes we get text messages faster than voice mail so I added 300 text messages to his plan with the understanding that if he went over these minutes he would lose his phone. The main reason I had to do this is because now I had to pay extra for those minutes and it showed me that he was not responsible enough to keep track of his usage. That's when all hell broke loose.

He went on this tirade about how not being able to text his friends was going to ruin his life. He went on to shout to me about how texting had made him more popular because he was able to talk with his friends when he was away from school when more things are happening. His outbursts grew into crying and wailing about how losing this ability to connect with his friends would alter his life in such a negative way he may as well not have friends at all! All I could think of as I watched him take his tantrum was how pathetic this world has become and cell phones were the catalyst to this now global phenomena of texting.

I've been in sales for many years, way before cell phones even existed. All we had for remote communication with each other was the old landline telephones. Back then you were suppose to go out an actually speak with other human beings and communicate through your voice and body language what it was you were trying to get across. By doing so you were able to get the whole idea behind the words as you bantered back and forth with words but also connecting with each other through direct eye contact and sometimes touch. This, I believe is the "human connection" that the cell phone is robbing us of. I could go on and on about this subject but I'll stay on track with the main story regarding my son...

I then asked my son why he didn't just call his friend and use the phone for what it was first intended for. He said that, being a boy, he wasn't so good at communicating with others in such a direct fashion and the texting made it easier for him because he didn't have to deal with awkward silences direct communication presents at times to the speakers. I suggested that maybe the conversation was then over, unlike texting where you could talk about nothing for hours on end. He didn't accept this logic at all and just continued on with his tantrum.

What have we come to? A bunch of low self-esteem disconnected excuses for human beings not able to have a sincere, in-depth conversation with each other? What has happened to the art of conversation in this world. I feel it in my job everyday. When I text someone or send out emails I know I am not really connecting with the person on the other end because of the fact I cannot see their reactions to my words, the expressions on their faces, the tones of their voices, etc. I feel I've become more of just a messenger, rather than a "customer service" person, just delivering the goods without much a personal touch.

I believe it is that personal touch that all bring to the table when speaking with each other face to face, that makes our words more powerful and alive as we keep our audiences captivated and persuaded into believing what we have to say. There is a purity and honesty that we attach to these types of conversations that we are losing in this new texting culture.

Understanding how hard it is to be a teenager in today's society, I do feel for my son when is pleading with me to understand his communication shortcomings. But I also believe he will never truly learn how to connect with others if he doesn't start learning to speak with his voice to those he truly wants to connect with. So I'll keep his phone from him for just a little while to stand firm with his punishment but also to see if he can adjust to the loss and learn how to use the real tool for communicating, the one God gave to us for this purpose, his voice.

Another Day Another Quarter

There are people spending money out there so there are still people making money right? I wonder if they understand what it's like to always be wondering if you're going to have enough to pay the bills in two months. I know people who have lost everything through job loss, divorce, and illness. These people consider it a miracle to just have a roof over their heads for another day! Do the people who have good jobs know how fortunate they are to still be receiving that hefty paycheck every week? Do they know that in today's economy that in itself is a miracle? Do they realize they are just a layoff away from losing it all just like the millions who already have?

I'm looking for a part time job to make ends meet since my ex stopped paying his child support 3 months ago. I've sent out my resume to numerous companies but haven't received any call backs yet. I realize they may feel they will have to pay me a higher wage because I am well skilled and college educated so I may not be the first they consider to hire. I watch the younger kids get the jobs because they're not as skilled and the employers can pay them much less to work twice as hard. I can remember a day when this was quite the opposite. We were told we really had to go to college to get the higher paying jobs, so we all did. Now we're left with huge student loans and no job to pay them because we're considered "overqualified" and would cost the company too much money.

So I'm left to figure out some other way to recoup the money my ex is no longer sending to help take care of his children. I'm a bit of a risk taker but I already do two jobs that are only commission based. This time I'm going to have to try to find something that actually pays a paycheck every week. Is this still possible I wonder? We'll just have to see. In the meantime I can feel my creative juices trying to conjour up some way I can use my talent to make something that may sell. The only problem is, it takes start up money to do this and we are tapped out.

In the meantime, we save the change because every quarter adds up to dollars and every dollar makes it possible for me to give my kids something they need. We shop at Market Basket for the best sale foods, we call on friends to do house repairs and auto repairs. We use every possible way to stretch the dollars we have as we work hard to make more. But most important is we keep on praying to God through Jesus for protections, abundance, and good health. We pray daily, on our knees and somehow He has continued to find us in His Grace because we still have a smile on our face, we still have hope and we still believe in miracles. How can we not? The miracle is we should have lost everything so many other times in the past 10 years and we're still here living month to month but nonetheless here. Now that's a miracle!

Scrounging in America

Nothing is as it seems, they say, as I sit here in my half of the duplex I own watching the latest extreme weather’s attack on our Northeastern coastline. Not only is the weather out of control worldwide, but so is the economy. We are facing so many burdens in these times I can hardly keep up with them. It’s enough to make you wonder if we’re being punished for unrealized sins as many ancient people experienced in the Bible. Even our new African American President seems out of touch with the reality this world is experiencing; boasting on television how the 67,000 jobs the private sector has added to the employment market shows how the economy is finally seeing a surge. Is he kidding? What planet does he live on? There are 300 million people living in America today with, according to the US Department of Labor statistics as of August 2010 tell us(http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm), over 14.9 million people are now out of work and many more are being added to this number every day. 67,000 new jobs being filled out of the 14.9 million in need is like saying adding one granule of sugar to the cake batter makes it taste sweet. It doesn’t even make a slight difference to the taste. You have to wonder if Washington even knows what’s really going on outside its’ stoic white pillars or they just wish to remain blind to reality.

Let me introduce myself to all the wealthy, politicians who sit on their plush expensive couches tonight as I sit on my couch that took me a year to pay off on layaway before I could even bring it home to enjoy its’ comfort. I am a 51 year old woman, born and raised in America, proud to speak of my country, raising two children on my own, college educated, and still believing in the American dream even though it remains hidden behind a cloak of poverty that is quickly seeping into almost every home around the country. The only facts that separates us from you is that we have grown accustomed to living this way for quite some time now while you all have increased your income at our expense. We live by scrounging for every extra penny we can find, filling our empty jars with spare coins so we can pay for our children's ski programs while your children complain they don’t have the latest $500 pair of designer ski goggles to wear this year and would you please buy them soon so they don’t feel like geeks wearing last years’ model. I get a headache just thinking about our differences yet I still have a smile on my face because I know I can survive through this mess you have allowed us to sink into because I’ve been forced to learn how to live this way. Like 90% of the other people I live near in this small eastern town and I’m sure most of the country, I’ve learned how to scrounge.

This is my first blog entry in a series of 52 weeks to follow. Follow me in our plight as we use innovative ways to make ends meet and produce more income in order to pay the bills and get our immediate needs met. I will be watching for your additional ideas as we go through this journey together. We may even get noticed and finally reality may sink in to those who appear so clueless to Americas’ needs.

Source:

Employment Situation SummaryTransmission of material in this release is embargoed USDL-10-1212

until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, September 3, 2010
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Last Modified Date: September 03, 2010