Is technology complicating your life?

Drippin’ Life

Can you imagine your parents or grandparents having the convenience of a cell phone?

That’s a question I thought about last week as my son and daughter used GPS on their cell phones to make certain my oldest granddaughter safely made the three-hour drive from Drippin’ back to school to begin the new semester. They also can follow flights with an app that reports air speed, altitude, miles from destination and estimated time of arrival.

When the Tiger Band took their spring trip to Hawaii a while back, my son might as well have piloted the plane himself, as he monitored their flight from California and across the Pacific until his son and his wife, a chaperone, had landed safely at their destination. Of course, I would have done the same, had I understood how to use the technology.

But with all the convenience, could technology actually be making our lives more complicated?

For example, have you ever attended a meeting, bible study, concert or church service and forgotten to turn off your phone…and it rings, unexpectedly, during the closing prayer, in the middle of a serious discussion or during the sermon or lecture?

It’s equally as disruptive as a baby crying although both interruptions are mostly out of your control.

Did you know texting makes car crashes 23 times more likely to happen?

During a recent chat with a friend who happens to be an Austin psychologist, she reported seeing more patients complaining their spouses are addicted to technology. “In the last few months, I must have seen 30 couples/ families where technology addiction was contributing to the psychological problems within the family…and when I recommend unplugging from devices at one mealtime or before bedtime, I’m met with surprising pushback – like asking them to unplug is as bad or worse than asking them to give a primary body part,” she said.

For teens and younger cell phone users, text messages can break hearts by abruptly and unexpectedly ending a friendship. Texts are also sharp-tongued weapons used for bullying, shaming or ostracizing “the different kid” in the group.

In the adult category, downsizing companies use text messages to lay off large chunks of the workforce with one keystroke…and the unkindest cut of all, when a long-tenured, loyal employee is fired by text or email without the courtesy of an exit interview.

Call me old-fashioned, but not providing a faithful employee a reason their services are no longer needed is Neanderthal behavior in my book.

Similarly, engagements are broken by text, friendships are ended and contracts are cancelled these days without the courtesy of a face-to-face conversation.

Here’s one more aspect of the damage being done by the deluge of devices we seem to depend on these days, and that’s the absence of conversation between us and our kids and their friends. They don’t talk. They don’t make eye contact. They don’t learn how to read body language and they don’t have much chance to emphasize a point, unless they use all-caps.

Why is this important?

During interviews for scholarships, chats with a university’s admissions advisor and for those grads planning to join the military, how potential recruits express themselves, answer recruiters’ questions and communicate during any part of their training may mean the difference between finding their right niche or missing a great opportunity.

My suggestion: Set aside one day of week your family goes commando when it comes to devices. Instead of reading emails, checking Facebook or sending texts, have a real conversation at dinner. Play a game once the table is cleared. Call grandma, favorite relative or far-away friend. Go for a walk, work in the garden or invite the neighbors for a glass of ice tea.

Clear, concise communication takes practice and daily usage. It’s a necessity for success. That’s why more universities are adding seniorlevel communication and presentation classes to their curricula for engineering, accounting and computer science majors.

Don’t let your kids or yourselves be left behind or handicapped by too much technology.