By Imari Rede
Millennials are known as the generation inclined to prioritize screen-to-screen contact and maintain egos fulfilled by media based peer acceptance.
Although I too am a millennial that loves Instagram and Snapchat just like the rest of you, I think that a lot of us create our own discomfort and more personal insecurities by not communicating well with the people we cherish in our lives.
People often base their own self worth on their interactions with others. They assume that someone feels a certain way about them because of a single text or a passing glance.
Insecurities come about when communication has disconnection.
How many times have you texted someone or received a message right after leaving them that’s along the lines of, “I wish I would have told you-,” or “By the way, I forgot to say-?”
Times like these you miss out on opportunities to truly use the inert human connection that everyone has. Humans are designed to interact with one another. You build identity through the relationships that are formed in your life.
Technology has made reaching out to a friend or loved one a simple task. Social media platforms have made it easy to share a compliment or a ‘like’ to show some artificial sympathy. This type of communication is hard to deal with because there is so much space for misunderstanding.
These misunderstandings have formed into a newly acknowledged phenomena known as “ghosting,” which has hurt a lot of people’s sense of self. Ghosting is a term for the slow end of a relationship that is purely based on texting, direct messaging and other forms of electronic communication.
It happens when both parties do not share the same type of connection. One or both people realizes that the sort of pseudo relationship that has been growing is no longer as important as it once was.
Building relationships that are technology based are a waste of time because ultimately people crave intimacy in a way that cannot be met unless you are physically present.
You would be much more content with yourself if you made strong personal connections with one another in person. People have a better chance of being held accountable when they are confronted in person.
Say what you mean when things come up.
Being honest and opened about what you feel and what you expect from the people in your life.
It will make understanding one another a lot easier.
Face to face communication is important because texting forces both parties to make assumptions and can leave dissociated emotions.
Tone is often undetectable or consequently over exaggerated.
There is not necessarily a lack in communication because the tools are there.
The true thing lacking is quality of communication.
When you are interacting in person with someone you get so much more out of the conversation.
There is spoken language which brings together tone and the specific syntax and diction that the individual uses.
It’s not like texting where someone takes the time to write out and send their thought, it’s real time.
Spending quality time with people also gives you the ability to learn about their body language.
When you truly know a person’s body language a small movement could be enough to say it all.
To be more connected and to have better relationships, stop worrying about morning texts and start looking forward to planning some personal time with the people that are important to you.
Solidify your relationships by being more upfront and confident with your own communication.