The late comedienne Joan Rivers was famous for her line “Can we talk?” Songwriters have composed songs with that title, and in a recent front-page article in the Dallas Morning News, it was reported that a cross-country trekker named Chris Andrews has made it his goal to break America’s phone fixation by encouraging people to talk. He’s walking across the country to inspire folks to have real, face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball conversations. What a concept!
It’s not that Andrews is anti-technology. On the contrary, he carries a smartphone and a camera and even has a website (www.LetsTalkUSA.com). His mission is simply to get people to balance technology with human contact. As a recovering smartphone addict, Andrews believes that our devices have caused us – instead of feeling more connected – to feel isolated. Communication has been reduced to short, quick written messages eliminating the deeper level of understanding that comes with facial expressions, voice tone, and the chemistry that accompanies in-person conversations.
Andrews likes to speak to middle-school audiences. It’s the generation he’s most concerned about, the one raised with smartphones and social media. He always begins his talks by asking audience members to turn to the person next to them and look into their eyes for 10 seconds. Most find the exercise awkward and uncomfortable.
I think this guy is on to something. We’re losing our God-given ability to communicate in the way we humans were created to communicate – in person. And, while I love the convenience that email, texts, IMs, and the like provide, I’m convinced that such methods of “talking” are the source of many messes, mistakes, and misunderstandings – many of which would never occur if replaced by more person-to-person conversation.
In today’s world, the answer to the question “Can we talk?” seems more and more to be “No, not really.” We’re much more comfortable creating space between ourselves and someone else with a text or a tweet.
So here’s my challenge to you…
This week connect – really connect – with at least five people in a real discussion. Take the time to sit down, look into the eyes of your spouse, a parent, child, co-worker, friend…or, perhaps, like Chris Andrews…even a stranger. Ask questions, listen, and be rewarded by the experience. You’ll be glad you did.
©Copyright 2017
