I joked recently that when I retire in 25 years or so, I will be able to have a retirement job teaching face-to-face communication. Social skills. How to talk to people and what body language is. As I watch the events of the world unfold, this prediction begins to hold an eerie connotation. I work with teenagers every day; for many, their “social skills” are deteriorating at a frighteningly rapid rate. Worst yet, some of them never acquired any to begin with.
Think about it. The preferred mode of communication for teens is text message. “Text speak” is a new language, with all of it’s nuances. It is a common occurrence for someone to end a meaningful, personal relationship via text message. Why? I am only speculating when I say that a significant percentage of the population in the United States have neither the courage nor skills to have real (and sometimes difficult) conversations face-to-face.
What comes of the depersonalization epidemic? I would venture to say that for many, it results in an emptiness that needs to be filled by something else – including some unhealthy habits. I would also venture to say that it results in acute cases of bystander apathy. So we can’t see people as human beings. Many will not help if they see someone in need, someone who is trying to isolate themselves from society, or otherwise crying out for attention.
Think about it – then have a conversation with someone face-to-face.