Communication Breakdown

Why are some people afraid to communicate face to face?  Why are some people more comfortable texting or emailing someone?  Why are we more and more finding out what our friends are doing because of their statuses on Facebook and Twitter?

 Communication breakdown is not just about the lack of communication, but also about the lack in face to face or vocal communication between people.  No I am not trying just to get the Led Zeppelin song in your head, I also am trying to prove a point that the majority of society has a problem communicating in person, and it is only getting worse with the increase in technology.  As PR professionals it is our jobs to make sure the lines of communication are not cut and if they are then we must find out where it was cut and fix it.  

I came to this realization last weekend when my apartment turned from civil to complete shambles in a matter of minutes because of the lack of communication between my roommates.  Basically roommate 1 was mad at roommate 2 for 'excluding her' or not communicating how and when she was going to this party.  And roommate 2 was mad at roommate 1 because she said texted her.  This lack of communication has been going on for months now between these two and the tension has been building along with driving a wedge between their friendship.  I was stuck in the middle with roommate 3.  We heard both sides of their arguments for months now, but neither one wanted to confront and communicate to the other face to face.  Finally roommate 3 had had enough and bringing them in the same room sat them down and told them they could not leave until this was fixed.  

Now this sounds a bit elementary, but it had come down to just that because of the lack of face to face communication.  If roommate 1 and 2 had talked to each other from the beginning the problem would not have snow balled into something bigger.  Because both parties had only survived on texting each for so long, instead of talking face to face, they grew comfortable there and became almost afraid to talk to the other one in person.  Why have some people worked themselves to a 'comfort zone' of communication via texting or messaging?

Think about how many times you call and talk to someone vs. texting, messaging , or emailing them.  The majority of people I think would prefer to text someone all day long, rather then call them and talk to them for an hour or two.  I am just as guilty as the next person, but where exactly should we draw the line and break through the breakdown?  How many of my fellow classmates would rather email their assigned food vendors then go and talk to them in person?  This summer I shadowed a PR rep from a local hospital and she told me how she is an 'email kind of girl.'  Meaning that she would rather email someone then talk on the phone them and if she did have to talk on the phone she would dread it.  I was shocked to discover that communicates for a living hated talking to someone on the phone.  I think this problem of face to face or even vocal communication is becoming a problem with the younger generation.  

No it is not completely a bad thing to have new technology that keeps the lag time between communication almost non existence.  Next time you go to text or message some think about the last time you heard their voice, in person or on the phone.  Communication breakdown has a very simple solution, its communication, good communication, and sometimes that requires using your voice not your fingers.