Where has all the writing gone?

Instead of an update on WC work, I thought I'd just share a few thoughts...

When I'm asking, "Where has all the writing gone?" I suppose I'm also pondering how much communication has changed and continues to change year after year.

Remember when we didn't even have cellphones?  I know...just barely!  My mom always talks about how her and my dad would have to call someone's home phone if they wanted to ask someone out on a date and work their way through siblings or parents first before they had a chance to speak with the person they were actually intending to call.  Now we have cellphones that allow us to direct contact to whomever we wish to speak.  But then with cellphones came texting...and conversations that look something like this:

what up?
nm. hbu?
hw nd more hw, lol
u should just copy, jk, lol
haha, i wish, ttyl
l8r

There's barely a complete word or thought anywhere in there!  When I was working with Upward Bound a few weeks ago, several of the students were talking and someone didn't know what "nd" meant in a text until another student clarified that it stood for "and."  "Why can't you just spell-out 'and'; it's only one more letter," I asked, and they immediately responded that it was "cooler" to be able to text and still have your message understood using the least amount of letters possible.

Don't get me wrong, texting is an insanely easy way to get a quick message out and I use it all the time to get in touch with people, but boy is it changing how we communicate with one another.  Sometimes I don't think people are even savvy to the skill of sending a professional email anymore.  Where's the introductory line?  The closing?  Why on earth is the subject "hello"?  How am I supposed to understand the significance of the email from that?

I'm certainly guilty of communication barriers too.  I've just become more attuned to this change in communication recently because of my brother's induction to the U.S. Naval Academy.  My brother has a "plebe summer" before he starts his academic year, but during the plebe summer he is not allowed a phone or personal computer, so the only way to stay in contact with him is through letters.  Writing that first letter to him felt strange because I could not remember the last time I had sent a letter in the mail.  Granted, my letters to him have to be slightly different in content than your normal correspondence because he never has time to send a reply, so they are mainly supposed to keep him thinking positively and supplying up-to-date information and chit-chat about what's going on in my life to allow him a welcome distraction every so often from the rigors of becoming part of the Navy.

Writing these letters, however, made me think more about how much an effect words can have on people, the importance of communication, and how sometimes we lose the essence of a genuine, heartfelt statement in all the jumble of letters we allow to signify words in our text messages.  Texting my brother "luv u" doesn't give off quite the same feel as receiving a letter in the mail that reads, "I love you very much!"

Over the course of the summer I've also received the occasional letter in the mail from a friend or postcard and even these quick notes seem to have more impact than a text.  Sending a postcard isn't just a quick thought, but a message that took time to write, stamp, mail and is patient enough not to require an immediate response that texting usually demands.

Am I going to be elated once my brother gets his phone back in Annapolis from the Navy?  Absolutely!  But I'm appreciative for the opportunity, although somewhat originally forced upon me, to re-experience the treasure of writing a letter.  And most of my joy that he will have his own phone comes from the knowledge that I can actually call him and hear his voice, rather than consistently sending him impersonal texts.

I do realize that I am writing this post with less experience than others in our tech savvy world.  I don't have a Facebook or Twitter, and I certainly recognize how valuable these sites can be in sharing pictures and staying in contact with friends and family who may be hard to visit on a regular basis; but boy do I miss the days when you were forced to talk to someone face-to-face, when relationships grew through multiple dates and outings and began and ended through human-to-human contact rather than via a change of "relationship status" online.  Technology is great, changes lives positively, and ensures progress, but every now and then I like to be old-fashioned...sometimes forced into it, sometimes voluntarily...and send a letter, leave a voicemail message, or who knows, maybe go really crazy and talk to someone in person!

Anyways, just thoughts, maybe write a letter to someone who's important to you and give a try to a different mode of communication...I guarantee it will be well received. :)

- Heidi Heaton