I’ve never enjoyed talking on the phone. It’s always felt a little awkward for me. Perhaps it’s because I simply prefer to see the person I’m speaking with, or perhaps it’s because I migrated to the Internet at an early age, adopting email and MySpace as my primary means of exchanging correspondence. But, it’s not just that I feel awkward, I sound awkward. For some reason, when I pick up the phone to receive or make a call, my voice inevitably climbs to abnormally high octaves. I’m usually able to make a conscious decision to lower my voice before making a call. So, if I don’t think about it beforehand, you might be a bit puzzled to hear the voice of a pubescent boy answering my phone. You know, though, that’s just the way it is; there’s something about the media we use to communicate that change the way we might normally communicate face t0 face.
When it comes to communicating via Internet means, such as Facebook or Twitter, many of us face other such communication conundrums. When is it appropriate to use emoticons, or to omit them? Oftentimes, while emoticons and acronyms were created to ease the process of online communication, they create a whole new set of challenges for us to overcome. A man might feel that the use of emoticons makes him appear effeminate and overly-sensitive, or a woman might fear that smiley face will make her co-worker think she’s flirting with him. Also, many non-natives of the digital realm will find themselves struggling to make sense of acronyms, as portrayed humorously by Phil’s character from the show Modern Family, when he explains to viewers that he’s a cool dad who knows all the hip text lingo, citing, “WTF: Why The Face…” However, regardless of age, learning to converse in this new form of language is a challenge all of us, at some level, must conquer. Let’s just think about this: the English language has taken thousands of years to evolve into what it is today, and it is totally different from what it was in the days of Shakespeare, just a short few hundred years ago. Today, we must struggle to keep up with a language which is now evolving much faster with the introduction of the web.
The plot thickens as languages begin influencing each other through the web. Take English and Spanish, for example. As someone with ties with the Latin community, it is humorous to see Latinos beginning to incorporate English words, phrases, and acronyms – sometimes with humorous results – into their online communication.
“You keep on using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.” -Inigo Montoya, Princess Bride
It is not uncommon to see English profanities peppered throughout a status or tweet which may simply describe a scrumptious sandwich or pleasant afternoon walk, as such words are viewed as hip outside the United States. While this may be a purely humorous example, it illustrates the challenge and beauty of global interconnectivity with regards to language. We have a lot of work to do to keep up, even as sites like Facebook begin incorporating embedded translators to make interaction easier. But, we also have so many opportunities to learn about the world beyond our homes, and beyond even our borders.
This is a very interesting post. So do you feel that a text-based medium actually gives a better representation of “who you are” than a phone call?
I myself do not ever use cuss words in my Facebook statuses. I do not want cuss words associated with my name because I do have kids as friends and don’t want them to get the wrong impression.
I agree with the vast majority of statements on your blog and can relate on the Latinos occasionally mixing up Spanish and English with humorous results. That has happened more than once at one of my family’s favorite restaurants, a Mexican food establishment in a nearby town. I also must admit that learning more about the world does sound pretty good. I would like to learn a little more about other cultures given the chance. The internet, while it has its risks, could help people around the world to do just that.
Emoticons are so tricky! I use the smiley face all the time, but before I was married I had several guys take that as flirting. I think people read into them way too much.
In high school I was literally scared of talking on the phone. It was traumatizing! For me, I was worried about not knowing what they were going to say (so I could prepare a response). Email had spoiled me, because I could read their message and even wait a day or so to make sure I said things perfectly. It took me several years to get comfortable with that, and even now I think my voice gets a little higher and more sugary! :)
…that smiley face is completely platonic ;)
I agree with your statement about us having the opportunity to learn about the world through communicating with others who aren’t from where you are. I like to find those places that give you the opportunity to communicate with others from all over the world. It’s a fun way to learn new things.
I like how you mentioned the learning curve of communicating on smart phones. It made me think about how I have started to realize my parents text more. My dad went from leaving long pointless voice mails to short text and my mom and dad both text with accurate grammar skills, as if they were writing an essay.
I loved the point you made about how difficult it can be to use emoticons appropriately! I am glad I am not the only person to feel this way. I started text messaging much later than most of my social group. In fact, I remember a time when I didn’t have text messaging on my phone, due to how expensive it was when it first came out. At first, I would reread all of my text messages to make sure there was no way for them to come across mean or to be misinterpreted, because “funny” doesn’t always translate well. Because of a complete lack of social cues, I found texting to be awkward and easily misunderstand. Obviously, I love text messaging now, and I use it all the time, but I still spend way too long debating about what emoticon to use! I generally stick to the laughing smiley face or the thumbs up icon. I don’t venture too far from those.
I enjoyed your post, and I felt it was very relatable. Also, great title!
I thought that I’m the only person on this world who hates talking in the phone. I always had problems with my Mom everytime she come to visit me because of that. She want me to answer all the phone calls I’m getting,but I always tell her that if someone has something top important he or she can leave me a breif message and I will get back to them as soon as possible. She think that this is so rude, but I think that this is me and I like it this way. Why I should waste my time talking in the phone all day, mostly sales people?To me, phone calls or cell phones are for emergencies. What if one of my kids at school had an emergency, and the school they were trying to reach me and I was busy talking gassip with a friend?That’s why I’m so glad that we live now in the highest technologies, where we can communicate using texting,Twitter, and Facebook, which are easier and faster to use.