Rachel Friedmann

10-15 years ago, I would never have imagined having text message conversations with my parents. Today, it is a great way to communicate without having to phone each other to share something that could easily be shared in a quick message. For instance, my parents recently took in a puppy. They had waited a few months since the beloved almost 17-year-old family dog had passed, before starting their search. To ensure they received family input, we received numerous pictures sent straight to our phones of potential pet siblings. Finally, they decided on a sweet puppy named Danny.

After being a Friedmann for about a month, Danny was raced to the emergency room for seizures followed by fluid-filled lungs. Today, Danny is at home being weaned off his meds. During the ordeal, my parents kept in touch via phone and yes, text message.

The poor vets probably had to smile. Everytime they walked into the room, my parents had to quickly get off their phones. Obviously, this is one example of many with my parents, but it is interesting to see how relationships and staying in touch has changed drastically. Now, to get M&D new phones with QWERTY keyboards…

I can’t count how many texts I sent/received today and am afraid to know the number. Between meet-ups with friends and a meeting time change I felt like my day was spent entirely on my blackberry.

I worry as I often do about how society is changing the rules of how we interact. Are these dissected conversations we regularly have with those closest to us bringing us closer together or diluting relationships? We take for granted that our friends and families will respond immediately to a text or call and are quickly annoyed if they don’t.

The question still remains swirling around my mind – are we better off with the way we communicate now than we were 10 years ago?