I’ve been spending quite a bit of time on social media these days.  Developing a “presence.” While I create and write stuff it also makes me think. So I guess it’s doing what creating and writing is supposed to do. So that’s a good thing I suppose. I’ve noticed that everyone is very busy these days doing something. Remember the old days when you would reach out and talk to friends and family on the phone to catch up and see what is going on? Or you would meet them in person somewhere? I was thinking how this seems to happen less and less. At first I was starting to take all this non communication from people personally.  But then it kind of hit me. No body needs to communicate directly any more. Most people post their day to day (minute by minute) happenings on Social Media. First, don’t I think it’s cute that anyone actually reads anything I put out there? But I’m going to humor myself and assume that people pay attention to my stuff.

I know I find myself doing this all the time. I read their Facebook posts so I kinda know what is going on with everybody. Some people have stopped posting on Facebook, so I just assume they want to be left alone, and it’s nothing more than just wanting to unplug from the world. Which is probably something I should try doing for a bit.  I know I try to reach out to people that I’m close to outside of the online world. And honestly there is only like 1 person that I don’t live with that I talk to on the phone to catch up. Really just because happenings are just too complex with some things to type… Everyone else, a text, a post response…something very non-intimate.

Then I start to think about the lack of communication in the dealings with people on a day to day basis. You would think with the world overly communicating that everyone would be super good at it. Well, not so much. It seems that everyone although very “vocal” on a keyboard, has trouble communicating with actual people. I suppose that makes sense. This would also explain why everyone is very self centered. Everything is about ME ME ME ME ME. People don’t know how to listen. This is because they don’t practice this. They don’t have to. They sit on a computer or their phone and have one way conversations. They pay no attention to what is actually being said or printed. People skim articles, emails and posts. They don’t know how to comprehend. To slow down enough and stop waiting to respond enough to pay attention to what is being said or written. I think we are seeing this not only with our friends and family, but in our businesses and our government. I also believe this is why there is so much misunderstanding in the world. I don’t think it’s necessarily that so many people think so differently about topics, it’s that no one is listening to one another about them.

The art of listening. Of taking the time to focus on something other than your own thoughts and feelings. People may just learn a thing or two not only about who they are communicating with, but about themselves.

So that’s my little mini rant today. Over nothing specific or particular. Just something I was thinking about while I was self indulged in my own self, blocking out the reset of the world. So homework for myself. (Yeah, see how this has become a theme lately? weird) Anyway….homework…To talk less and listen more. To not be so anxious to share my thoughts while other people are talking so I’m not listening or paying attention to them.

Now again, my disclaimer: These are my opinions as I see them. Open to interpretation. And always willing to hear people’s thoughts or opinions.