Emoticons and Emails: Has Face to Face Faded Out?

I can remember the constant ringing of a telephone and the anticipation of receiving a letter. I recall the feeling received from a nice day out or of an evening spent with good company. The exhilaration of the “hunt and seek,” of dating and, yes, the often felt disappointment of “coming up short.” Nonetheless, the aspect of interaction was involved. Phone calls took hours, when nowadays we rarely remember the call option of the telephone exists. What has happened to the social connection? In a world where social media has intended to make being social more feasible, it has instead eliminated the necessity of the spoken word.

Don’t get me wrong, the convenience of social sites are immense. I have reconnected with friends I have not spoken to in years. I have been able to experience and be a part of momentous occasions, either by pictures or Skype. Yet I often feel a nagging responsibility to keep up. The excitement of getting in touch has often been much stronger than the desire to keep in touch. The “Let’s catch up!” is often followed with the “I’m a texter though” disclaimer. While this ability provides an efficient way to check in or send a word or two of love, we no longer take advantage of the action of conversation. So even though it’s easier to be in touch, it’s become much less personal.

I value the purpose of words, as they display tone, emotion, and enthusiasm. However, reading a statement could cause a misinterpretation because the delivery was improperly attached.  Enter emojis. Emoticons. Now we are able to ensure our sentence preserves its intention by simply attaching a smiley face or a winking yellow circle of assurance. We now have the option to invade and portray our delivery with pictures of facial features and suggestive actions (i.e., the kiss).

The touch is missing. That personal touch. That “Let me take time out of my day and call and speak to you” touch. Now we get the “Let me take time at this red light and reach out” touch. We have become disconnected among all the vessels of promoting connection. We hardly hear a voice anymore. Instead we are privy to hashtags and status updates. Even businesses have introduced the ability to text or email an appointment verification, versus the traditional call and confirm. Dating is even less hectic, as potential dates can be skimmed through, read about, and rated, all without ever saying hello. Our desire to save time has made sharing time a foreign concept. The developments afforded to assist in social rapport have instead allowed us to become more excluded.

The existence of social media has begun to separate us from its original purpose. We stay glued to our phones, curious about the activities and whereabouts of others, while we ignore those surrounding us and become uninterested in socializing with the same people we “follow.” We would rather upload pictures than really be seen and take more care in accurately posting to someone’s timeline than take that time with that person. Interpersonal interaction has dwindled as we’ve become more and more engaged in tweeting than meeting. The world has become slaves to computer technology. As we intend to remain hip and “in the know,” we carry the latest phone but pay very little attention to someone else’s feelings IRL. We feel that it’s okay to allow the viral world to be reality because we have less time to indulge in real life actions. Next time instead of texting your BFF, call her up and chat, or ask your friend out to “phone free” coffee.