The Art Of Texting: The Importance Of Face-To-Face Communication

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I had a terrible nightmare the other night. Instead of waking my child sleeping upstairs, I sent her a ‘rise and shine’ text message. Instead of a heart to heart discussion with my child’s teacher I forwarded a series of recommendations - with bullets added for emphasis. I saw myself sitting side by side with my husband at our dinner table our heads bowed over our phones. Unfortunately, my dream reflects reality. Wherever I go, I see people texting. People are so taken up with their screens that they appear to be appendages of their fingers. Texting rates are continually surging. In studies of snowballing texting among teens, older teens ages 14-17, went from a median of 60 texts a day in 2009, to a median of 100 texts a day two years later. For many, texting is viewed as the communication tool of choice as face to face conversation is rapidly becoming a forgotten art. This negatively effects …show more content…

Friendship become truly enriching when two friends sitting in close proximity share their thoughts and opinions. Dr. Dan Siegel, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine explains the importance of face to face communication. He cites seven signals that are part of personal interactions. These seven signals are controlled by the right side of the brain, the part of the brain that is linked to our emotions. They are eye contact, tone of voice, facial expression, gestures, timing, posture and intensity of the response. In a text-to-text conversation, each of these signals are lacking. That is why verbal face-to-face communication is so much more rewarding. It contributes the emotional element that is so important to human affairs. As texting overtakes conversations, many more relationships lack this essential emotional connection and are shallower than they would otherwise

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