The year we stopped talking

USA Today ran this article and it was and is ‘right on’. 2010 was the year we stopped talking. Americans are more connected than ever, just not in person.  Just review these stats:

93% of Americans with cell phones/wireless

29.7% of cell phone users with smart phones

1.8 trillion mobile text messages sent from June to June (one year)

56.3 billion mobile multimedia messages in that same year

90% of global population with access to mobile networks

(Sources; CTIA-the wireless association, Nielson Co.)

Americans are connected at unprecedented levels. We can browse the Web and check email. The benefits are obvious: checking messages on the road, staying in touch with friends, family, business and effectively using time once spent waiting around.

The down side is that we are effectively dis-connecting from those in the same room.  From texting at a dinner party to posting on Facebook from work or checking email on a date, the connectivity revolution is creating a lot of divided attention, not to mention social angst.  Many analysts say it’s time to step back and reassess.

Will the kids so accepting and consumed by technology know what it’s like to share a story, look people in the eyes and know that sharing space with someone is all about connecting and not with technological devices?

Note per Petey, “What do I know…here I am sending information per blog and here you are going online to read it. Let’s talk!”

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