It’s something that (hopefully) everyone does each day. Have a conversation with someone. Not a text exchange. Not a post on Facebook. A real conversation.
Conversation
The definition of conversation is “the informal exchange of ideas by spoken words.” Emphasis on the word SPOKEN. This could be on the phone, but hopefully it’s face to face.
We had lots of opportunities to do this while on vacation recently. It was refreshing to be able to sit around with friends and family and just talk. Talk about the weather, about grandchildren growing up, about what type of wine we like to drink, or just about everything.
And, most importantly, disconnnect from social media.
The Original Social
We’re in that age bracket where the way you communicated was either by phone, in person, and the written word. To be fair, the written word was either handwritten or typed.
Today’s communication stream is mostly through cell phones. Calls, Skype, Facetime, text messages, or postings on social media have replaced much of the in person communication. What a shame.
We really were a more social society when we talked in person. You generally couldn’t get away with an eye roll, body language, or side conversation when talking in person. Nowadays, all of that takes place behind the curtain of the cell phone. You’re never really sure what is taking place outside of the electronic media.
The ice cream socials and other events allowed people to get together and share time with one another. Yes – today’s society may be busier. But maybe a little more down time isn’t a bad thing.
What’s The Point?
Vacations allow you the time to sit and talk with people to reconnect. It should give you the time to put the phone down. Maybe it’s generational, but the phone seems to have replaced the ability to be social. How many times do you sit down with someone and their head is buried in their phone. To some, it seems just plain rude.
Today’s “social” rules seem to indicate that if a photo doesn’t exist, it didn’t happen. Maybe some prefer to have internal memories instead of all those photos you need to delete later on.
The point of this is that vacation creates the opportunity to get away. From the daily grind, the forces around you, the phone, or whatever might be bringing you down.
Kick back, relax, and enjoy the summer. We plan to!