You-Twitter-My-Face...

Am I the only one out there who thinks reading about every-little-thing-someone-is-doing-during-their-day is akin to accompanying them on a bathroom break??

C’mon people – you MUST have more inspiring things to do with your day than ... A) read about what someone is making & eating for dinner, or B) writing about it! I am all about the time-saving and networking benefits of technology, but it’s supposed to make it easier to enjoy the better things in life – get out there on a bike ride, have lunch (and actually talk face-to-face) with a friend, work on a hobby, walk the dog or (gulp!) READ a good novel! Do we as a generation of people really want to know all of the extraneous gibberish imparted by our 500 nearest and dearest on Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and the like?

Granted, social connections are where it’s at ... but to what expense? I love that my kids can stay in touch with close friends while away at college and that their friendships never miss a beat. In my day, we had to resort to snail mail or long-distance phone calls (on a land line!) to stay in touch. Consequently, I lost touch with all but the few friends who returned my time consuming efforts.

I also love that we can network for better job opportunities until the cows come home and share thoughtful information by blogging. BUT, when was the last time you heard your child actually speak on the phone to a friend? Or dial a number instead of texting to make plans to go to a movie? I fear we are enabling a generation of people with little to no face-to-face communication skills, let alone competent writing & spelling ability (i.e., wassup? LOL! Idk, how r u?) In addition, are we depriving them of the necessary skills to develop close, personal relationships with intimate conversation? We all know how much easier it is to write something unpleasant than it is to face the music, but have you ever thought about how disrespectful that can be to the other person and the relationship you share(d)? Taking the easy way out does nothing for preserving a friendship – never mind a future networking possibility. Let’s start showing some respect for ourselves and for others by choosing the harder path – the one that demands you care about someone else’s feelings more than your own comfort; that helps you grow to be a better person in your own esteem, building emotional strength and pride.

To this end, Public Speaking may indeed become a mandatory class in high school and college, just as Keyboarding was back in elementary school. I regularly hear business people complain about the lack of social, communication and writing skills they encounter when trying to hire new employees - especially younger ones. I also notice that some of my teenager’s peers can barely look me in the eye when speaking. What is wrong with this picture? Maybe twittering, tweeting and texting is a better workout for your fingers than for your social & professional success.

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