On Plugging In, Pluggin Along, Unplugged

I was just texting with a friend in Redlands.  It is one of his preferred modes of communication.  He was concerned that someone he had been trying to contact had not returned his contact.  Not sure how he tried to contact him.  Perhaps texting first, then email, then telephone.  Maybe next would have to be US Mail, or Carrier Pigeon, or maybe smoke signals.  At last resort might be getting in the car and driving the twenty miles to Riverside.  Depends on how important it is.  Depends on whether the "contactee" event wants to be in contact with the "contactor."   There are so many ways to contact folks these days.  Let's not forget Facebook and Facebook Messenger, Twitter and Instagram.  You can even shoot a Youtube video and post it.  

Ultimately I guess it just depends on how plugged in you want to be.  Legend has it the Native Americans would put there ear to the ground to "hear" if intruders or a herd of buffaloes was nearby.  I to wonder if smoke signals were really a legend or if they really worked.  Originally man carved messages in stone.  Then drew pictographs on cave walls and rocks.  Papyrus came along with ink and such.  The pencil, the pen, the typewriter...all advances in communications.

And still it is difficult to communicate.  As with my Redlands friend, one had to determine what the preferred mode of communication is of the person with whom you wish to make contact.  I like email and Facebook, but texting is also fast and convenient.  Telephoning is more personal, definitely immediate, if you are lucky enough to have the "contactee" answer your call.   But there are those who don't answer their phone, ever, and only check voicemail.  Some folks don't have smart phones so they don't text or email.  Some don't have computer access.  This makes sending out a wide-broadcast message very difficult.  You could place a message in the classifieds of the newspaper, but who reads those any more?  Not as many people even get a paper any more!

I guess you could describe me as plugged in.  I enjoy reading Facebook and "liking", and posting fun stuff, and commenting.  It is just fun!  Texting is a good way to get me.  Email second.  But as I write this, I have to say getting a letter in the mail, handwritten, from a friend or loved one, is a special thrill.  Taking the time to sit down and write, address and send a message is just so very special, and, I am afraid, a dying art.  They don't even teach cursive script in a lot of schools any more.

So I wonder.  Are you plugged in?  Are to online and digital too much or perhaps, not enough?  I know it is a matter of personal preference.  I do not criticize anyone for using any favored communication tool too much or too little.  I'm just saying it is just evidence of how complicate modern life and talking to each other has become.  And I do have to say that being plugged in ALL the time has its downside.  Sometimes the tether chafes and it is then one needs to unplug.  The key is to remember one does have a choice.  And also important is letting folks know what  your preferred method of communication is.  Of course when communication styles don't match, your run the risk of a communication gap.  Ah, the human condition evolves and devolves and cycles and recycles.  And yet we still muddle through it all...