Monday, February 8, 2010

#173 - Communication Style

Serving on several boards that are concerned with communications, I'm finding it interesting that the different generations in this country communicate vastly differently.

Although my Mom has email, she would still rather talk to me on the phone. Her phone is her lifeline to the world and any disruption to phone service (like the genius that crashed into the phone poll this weekend) is tantamount to a natural disaster.

All my peers are very email oriented. I'm not sure why we are, but we have adopted the email as our main communication form. We have cell phones, some belong to Facebook, some even twitter, but its the email that gets my generation moving. I have so enjoyed reconnecting with my high school friends via Facebook, but I don't do Farmville or any of the other Social Network add-ons. This is mainly due to my time is limited for that type of activity.

The nieces and nephews do email, but they seem to have adopted Facebook more so then my generation. I believe their work requires the email so they mostly use it there. They are cell phone addicts and would never be caught without it. They text a bit and post pictures with abandon everywhere.

The younger teens and twenties are different. Email seems an imposition to them. Its all about the latest phone. Facebook and Twitter are the rage, BECAUSE they can be accessed by their phones. Their cell phone (Many can't remember a time without them) is their communications life. They ALWAYS answer their phone no matter what they are doing (use that to advantage old people!). Any restrictions on phone use are as if the Constitution is under attack. A phone is judged on how well you can text from it. I'm thinking that the next generation will have the most dexterous thumbs of any human.

Anyway you communicate - Keep talking. Silence may be golden, but it doesn't make anything better.

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