Yesterday I received several texts from friends and family: 

1-Dave is in the hospital. He had a heart attack.

2-Joanie miscarried. 

3-I need $50,000 to help develop this app. Can you help me find the money? 

4-We have to cancel Saturday night. Something came up. 

5-Can you distribute this press release for me?  I don’t have a budget. 

6-I just got fired.  Can I freelance for you? 

There was a time when these six topics would have had more relevance in my life.  I would spend  15-to-30 minutes discussing the who, what, where, why, when and how with each of the people who had sent the message.  The discussions would then spill over to the rest of my life, fueling further thought and consideration.  Nowadays these texts are just represent fleeting moments with people who are becoming strangers. We are mere bulleted points to each other.  

I am not saying that I actually have time for these discussions. The demands of the Internet eat up a tremendous amount of time. However, it is pretty sad when you realize that the people who sent these messages, don’t have time for me either.  They wanted to dispense the information and be done with it.  That is what the world has come to.  No more discussions, confrontations, debates, or live sharing. 

I find it funny that a lot of seniors are heavily involved in texting too. These are the same people who claim they are technophobes.  That’s strange. It didn’t take them very long to catch on. I think most seniors were forced into texting. If they want to have any kind of a relationship with their children, they had to learn fast.  I love it when I ask some of my friends how many times a week they speak to their adult children?   Most of them are stretching the truth when they say “A few times a week.”  I find out later it was all through text messages. Most seem to be fine with it.  They don’t have a choice. 

A client of ours, who developed a voice over Internet cell phone service, recently visited Cornell University to research the value of texting. I was shocked when he told me that students prefer texting. A phone call to them is like showing up unannounced at their front door. It frightened me when I first heard that because I felt it showed  the younger generation to be completely distorted.  Not long after, I realized I was like that too. A case in point: My doorman rang my intercom in my NY apartment to say that one of my neighbors wanted to talk to me.  There is a protocol in urban living.  You ask the doorman to announce you.  You just don’t show up.  Most New Yorkers keep their doors locked and don’t want surprise visits. I am one of those people. 

I remember when I was growing up my mother and her friends had a revolving door friendship. They didn’t knock. They just entered.  I thought that was the natural state of living until I moved out on my own.  I wanted my privacy. I guess that is what kids want today as well. They don’t want to be questioned or judged.   This is spreading to senior friendships too.  It is no longer about sharing. It is now all about me, myself and I.