Generation X = Generation impersonal
Wuz up b? OMG, I rofl @ u b/c u had 2 many [_]3 las nite. IMHO, TGIF cuz I need 2 get ZZZZZs. Idk hoas, OMG, I got BSOD. I h8 ppl who r n00bs. TTYL GTG L8R
I don’t even know what I just typed, I just found a bunch of internet slang terms on some website.
As generation X, we are known as the kids who were born with computers. We send e-mails, text messages, or instant messages to everyone. I remember the first time I used instant messenger and chat rooms back in 199? I thought to myself, “Wow, I can talk to people all over the world, and I have no clue who they are. And they have no clue who I am”. That is really impersonal.
The fact of the matter is our generation has been given the stigma of the people who don’t care about communication. When someone tells us to get in contact with someone, we shoot them an e-mail in 3 seconds. You sit down, pound on those keys as fast as you can, don’t check the spelling and hit the send button. Whew, a new record for shortest amount of time spent on communicating with someone. What is the status of the problem you sent in the e-mail? It doesn’t matter, it’s no longer our problem because we sent them an e-mail. We’re still waiting for a response. It is now someone else’s problem because the e-mail is in their box. Who knows if they got it, whether they read it, or if they’ll even respond to it.
But is communication really important to us? I would surely hope so since we are candidates for the Master of Science in Information and Communication Sciences degree. I think its fair to say that the amount of time you put into something tells how much you care about it. If you spend 5 or 10 seconds on an e-mail, you must not care about the person who gets it, or whether they respond. The message probably has no significance either. If what you have to say is important, the last resort of communication should be e-mail. I received 21 pieces of e-mail yesterday. I think I read half of them. Some of it was junk, some of it I didn’t feel like reading, and some of it I eagerly read.
E-mails have little or no means for expressing importance. Just because you clicked the little urgent button doesn’t mean that it’s urgent to me or someone else. E-mail has made an attempt to personify the sender by adding the little “signature” at the end. But most people use that to include their title and e-mail address.
A handwritten note or even a type written letter in the mail can have a huge impact. A simple phone call can do the same. This shows that you took the time to think about what you are communicating. This shows that you actually care. Why would someone spend money on postage and spend time on handwriting a note if it wasn’t important? The way you choose to communicate says a lot about how you value the other person and their time. Don’t send the wrong idea by taking the quickest way out. I know that e-mail is easy, but people are tired of staring at their computer monitors in order to read millions of e-mails each day. Do the right thing. Pick up the phone, or start licking envelopes.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “Didn’t you get my e-mail?”…