In today’s society, people seem to be moving toward communication that does not require being in close proximity to one another.  While Skype, facetime and Facebook messaging are ways of seeing one another while talking, the old-fashioned ways of “hanging out” with a friend or sitting-across-from-each-other talking while having a meal, now have the addition of a phone attached to each person involved.  Therefore, closeness in conversation is greatly affected by that added inanimate appendage, because it can cause unnecessary interruptions.

If meaningful relationships are valued, then there have to be limits on our phone usage when we are together with our family and friends.  There is a critical component that is missing when one does not have free hands.  Even small things, like gestures, are thwarted. The the ability to touch a hand, or reach out to console, is not likely to happen if one’s phone is being watched.  And more vital things, especially eye contact, are greatly diminished, making intimacy difficult at best.

It is worrisome when one sees the younger generation so consumed by their technology,  especially when the use of it is at the expense of real relationships.  Worse yet, is the fact that adults, who know better and have had these one-on-one experiences, have fallen into the trappings of this technology as well.

Communication is a gift.  The ability of human beings to talk, have eye-contact and touch uses three of our five senses.  The addition of having a meal together brings the other two, taste and smell, into the mix.  The more we interact in this way, the stronger our relationships become.  Phone and text conversations cannot begin to compete with the deep satisfaction of face-to-face interaction.

Some things in life are far more significant than others. The ability to communicate well is one of them.  It is important to the quality of one’s life to be connected to our fellow human beings.  Without that human connection, we may as well be living alone, for indeed we are.