The Lost Art of Conversation

Somewhere along the social media line, we lost the ability to hold a conversation. Perhaps it’s a part of the technology generation that we no longer feel the need for small talk. Instead of “Hey! How have you been? Oh that’s wonderful. What’s going on in your life?” And actually caring what the other person had to say, we now have “Hey What is *******? Oh thanks Bye. ” and we are actually offended when friends and acquaintances ask about our lives.  I completely understand the quick question, but not when its the only conversation we ever have with someone we consider a friend.

I received an email from a friend today unexpectedly. It was about two pages long simply conversing. I enjoyed so much hearing about what was going on in her life, and with her children, how her new job was. It was refreshing to actually email back and forth and carry a conversation. She’s one of my most favorite people in the world because we always have the best chats. She’s definitely someone I’d love to have a coffee chat with even though our schedules never allow such.

So many people today “keep in touch” via social media and the last year or so it’s just clawed the life out of me. How strange is it to think that people you never speak to know what’s happening in your life. They know you, they talk about you to other people  that know you but they never bother to talk to you. Well, when you post everything on social media they don’t have to talk to you. They don’t care about you because they have all the gossip they need from what you post, like or share.

It’s as if we have become a culture where we drive into our garages at night and shut the door to the real world while maintaining friendships only via social media. We don’t need to meet with our neighbors, we have no need to hear our friends voices. Those are simply annoyances in our lives now. So what is going to happen with our generation when we age. Will our virtual friends attend our funeral on Snapchat? Crap nevermind. I guess that’s already here. I wanted a funeral on Facebook the other day. Bless it heavens!!! What are we allowing this world to come to????

4 thoughts on “The Lost Art of Conversation

  1. Elizabeth says:

    Funny. My grandchildren just returned from visiting their grandfather in Jackson and told me how everyone they met talked to them. They found it a real contrast to New England. My generation is still conversation focused and is probably the last to make long long distance calls on a regular basis.

    Liked by 1 person

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