I'll admit that I like the convenience of being in constant communication with people. I like tweeting and reading e-mails and doing everything on my phone. I remember when I got my first smartphone in my last year of university, my roommates used to tease me because of my "addiction."
However, there is some etiquette that comes with the new light speed of communication. Rules like: keep your phone off the restaurant table, return a phone call or message in a polite amount of time, try to turn your ringer off while in public places, call if you're going to be late or cancelling plans etc. Sure, I've broken some of these rules before but I'll admit I don't feel the greatest when someone else does the same to me.
My mother has a cell phone, but never uses it. Instead of text messaging, she leaves voicemails when she's trying to find me or my sister. They are always the same slightly annoying, but always endearing kind that start with, "Hey it's Mom..." as if we don't know who it is. I assure her that the only other person who leaves me voice messages is my dentist. She is always appalled when my sister and I text someone a "Happy Birthday" or if we tell her how someone has sent an apology via text message.
When she was younger she used to sit on the kitchen counter and wait for my Dad's phone calls after his restaurant night shifts. She would make sure to pick up on the first ring so she wouldn't wake up my grandparents. Somehow they managed to stay in a relationship without the 17 forms of communication that we have today.
I tease her constantly for her old fashioned communication ways, but I also think she's onto something. I'm all for the instantaneous messaging but we all need to remember that behind that screen is a real person who twirls their hair around their index fingers when nervous or whose eyes change colour in the sunlight.
You see I'd take the sound of throaty laughter over a chime in my pocket, because we all know LOL is just a nice way of declaring, "I have nothing else to say right now."
Thanks to LangtonPR for the polish!
