Tweets, Chats & Chinwags!
It never ceases to amaze me how many ways we have these days to communicate with each other. Once upon a time there were few options: face to face and by letter which in some cases could take weeks or even months to arrive.
Just look how far we have come in a relatively short space of time since then! We have options that our forbears could not even imagine. Communication is electronically whizzed around the planet at amazing speed, so that we can talk to someone on the other side of the world instantaneously (that is provided that they are not in bed asleep, as the issue of time zones does slow us down just a bit!)
We have conventional telephones, mobile or cell phones of various descriptions, emails, Twitter, Facebook, text messages and everything something which gives us a means of communication. But I have to ask the question: Does all this hi – tech encourage really meaningful communication? I suspect that the answer is NO.
Emails are skimmed through and much of the message is not absorbed. Texting seems to me to often take the place of verbal interaction. Mobile or cell phones have to be available to the user day and night, so the user often becomes a slave to them.
People are spending more and more time on the internet in Chat rooms talking to people that even if they think that they know them, they really do not. These so called “friends” could easily be bogus.
Now I am not an electronics Dinosaur. I use email; I do have a mobile phone which I use occasionally. I do chat on the phone with my friends; I have blogs that I write posts on regularly. I am now even on Facebook! But Not All The Time!
What happened to quiet time? What happened to being still in body and mind? What happened to having really meaningful chats with family and friends without interruption from phones? What is the problem with actually turning your mobile/cell phone and computer OFF.
I believe that electronic communication is important and can have great benefits, but PLEASE let’s have some balance here. It is just as important to have quiet time. To regularly go out into nature and communicate with this wonderful planet that we live on. Just sit in the sunshine, listen to the birds chatting and the bees humming. Really see the beauty that is all around us. Be at peace with ourselves and the world and leave the electronics at home. They will still be there when we return.
Hilary Thompson – The Out and About Therapist
www.theoutandabouttherapist.com
