Why are there so many ways to communicate and so little being said...?

This post may officially move me into the "old codger" category. I have been looking at Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot, and a host of other Social Media tools to use in my business and I was overwhelmed by the evergrowing number of ways there are to communicate. In fact I think it is safe to say that there are more ways to communicate today than at any time in history. Take for example a celebrity that decides they want to send a Tweet and almost instantaneously thousands of fans read it. Or the company that wants to inform its customers of a new promotion and they can post it on Facebook and almost immediately a select group of interested fans get it.

With so many ways to communicate we might be led to think that much more is being said. When in fact it may ironically be that in the things that matter -  less is being said than ever before. Deep and lasting relationships are being replaced with interactions of convenience. Gone are the days of going to the neighbors and sitting on the porch just to shoot the breeze. Why talk when I can shoot you an email and you can message me later when you get a minute.

For all of this convenience it feels like we are giving up something. We are trading convenience for community. We are ready to abandon the sense of belonging that comes from face to face interaction, content to only reach out to others from our digital silos of solitude. No one is willing to sit an listen to Uncle Ed drone on about the war when they can just "Hide" him or unfriend him. There is something wonderful about learning to "endure" conversations that are not particularly interesting because someone else needs a listening ear (perhaps you are feeling that way as you read this one)..

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I feel confident it involves putting less of our energy into devices and more of it into people. It means suffering through a little more inconvenience so that we can connect with others in a real and meaningful way. An interesting idea from a person writing from his digital silo.