My wife and I had an issue with technology the other day. She emailed me a note asking me to do something. I couldn’t do it at the time, so I wrote back to remind me later. I was anxious about a meeting and was getting prepared at the time. I received an email exactly the same as the first, so I wrote back telling her not to be smart, I was already quite anxious. I had assumed that she was messing with me. She wrote back she wasn’t being smart. I responded just laying out the pressure I was feeling. The next day we were talking about it and realized there was a glitch in the email system and when she went to close out her browser it resent the initial email. She had been stewing all night because I had not apologized for accusing her of messing with me.
Ephesians 5:15 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise”.
Technology has been promoted as a tool to ease our complicated lives. The truth is if we are not careful it can complicate it even more. Text, Email, voicemail, social media’s and instant messaging are all tools to share information quickly. We may focus on communicating with one person or a whole group. The problem is, “What is the message that is coming across? “ As in my example, because the dialog was electronic without other feedback, assumptions were made. Something so simple caused hurt to the both of us. I am not suggesting that you throw out all sources of technology, but not to let it replace face to face conversations where possible.
Consider this: I have watched teens sitting next to each other, text back and forth because they were more comfortable typing their conversation than to actually talk it out. We are watching a generation loose the art of verbal communication. They are missing the understanding that body language is as much a part of a conversation as the words that are offered.
There are so many additional things to be careful of when using technology to communicate on both sides. Because large parts of conversation have been removed I would suggest; be slow to react or take offense. There may be more to a message than what was sent. It may become more obvious with time. There are some conversations that just can’t be done without face to face communication. Choose your words wisely. Be careful what you share using technology. With all the social media’s out there you can get caught up sharing all parts of your lives and the lives of your friends and family. Consider what you are posting. Is it something you might find funny, but could hurt someone else. Some information just doesn’t need to be put out for the world to know. Things that are posted in public are impossible to remove. Friendships are often ruined by something written and shared even though it was not meant to cause harm.
Messages left on a voicemail even though it is the voice of the person may also be missing some of the details necessary to understand the whole message. Even though there is voice inflection and more content, it is still not the whole message. Take it the same as if it were an email. Consider the words, but be slow to react until you can gather enough information to be sure you have all the details of the message. Do not be afraid to ask questions in order to clarify the meaning. More understanding means better judgment in decisions.
Technology does not replace time together. Turn off the cell phone, television, and computer every so often and focus on each other.
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