COMMUNICATION LESSONS

I remember growing up in Willowdale, Ontario in the ‘60s as a simpler time. There were no personal computers or cell phones and communicating with friends happened by writing letters. Of course we had a telephone and, as I recall, we had a party line, which was cheaper than a private line. Our party line family spoke Italian and I would listen in on their chattering, not knowing what they were saying.

During summers at the cottage in Muskoka, several families shared a phone line. Different rings were assigned to each cottage. I think ours was two short rings. I would send postcards home to my father who worked in Toronto Monday to Friday and joined us on weekends. I found a few of those childish postcards in a drawer after my father’s death.

Letters took about a day to arrive across the city and we eagerly anticipated a visit from the postman. Today’s methods of communication are immediate and intrusive. People are too easily accessible. Cell phones ring and people answer them, regardless of where they are or what they’re doing. Whatever happened to the days when people had to wait to communicate with friends and family? Patience seems to be a thing of the past.

I’ve changed with the times and I find myself opening my email account, anticipating chatty messages from friends across the globe. It’s not quite as exciting as receiving a letter by mail, but I still look forward to it. Easier communication methods have made us lazy. No longer do we sit down with pretty paper and inscribe our thoughts with ink. Fewer written letters have reduced the need for proper writing skills. Modern test scores prove that current students’ writing skills are far below that of their 1960s counterparts.

Though rarely face-to-face, people are socializing more. Fifty years ago, culture encouraged modesty and humility. Social networks make us feel important. We share our entire lives online without knowing who is scrutinizing us. Am I the only one who finds this creepy? 

We can chat online via Skype and see each other. We have three-way connections and hand-free phones. Every year something new comes out and everyone rushes to buy the latest gadget. I will admit the computer is far superior to a typewriter and cell phones make me feel safer while driving at night alone, but sometimes I think that progress is moving too fast. I want to slow down and ignore the world around me.

Will today’s technology seem outdated fifty years from now? Of course it will, but thankfully I won’t be here to see it.