Modern Technology Has Made Communication Almost Non Existent and Dangerous

How many times this week have you actually called someone, spoke to them instead of texting or going back and forth on facebook, or just sat over a cup of coffee face to face chatting about anything?

The answer to this question is probably none or just some of you have. Modern technology has made communication practically non existent. We text our bosses when we aren't coming to work. We text our children, parents, and friends throughout the day so the need to call them isn't necessary. We even text our spouses or significant others also.

I refuse to let this technology come between my family, friends, and even coworkers.

How many times have you been at work and text someone that is sitting right in front of you? We all have done it.

Communication is so important on so many levels. As a writer I know the detriment texting can have an ill affect on people and you know why? Because everyone interprets words differently. If someone doesn't know your personality they can surely misconstrue your words and make them how they want them to sound, which has caused many arguments.

Is it really so aweful to pick up the phone and talk to the very people you use to love to talk to before cell phones and texting even came about? Is sharing your whole life on one page on the internet so important that you might be saying too much?

People think about your loved ones and friends and that one day they might not be here for you to say anything to. Would you want the last memory of them to be "well I text them three days ago and they didn't answer"? Maybe because they were ill but you didn't have the time to call.

Have our lives become so consumed with computers, cell phones and all the social net works, that we have forgotten to say in words I love you today?

Life is precious and it does not last a long time. Some are taken at an early age and others who do live to be old will tell you life was too short because it is.

Don't let modern technology come between your family and friends. Pick up the phone, make a date to go out and have some fun times. You don't want to write memories on a facebook wall of someone who passed away that won't ever see it.

There is no time like the present to tell someone you love them in words not in texting. Make today the first day of your last day of texting. Pick up the phone and call.

You do not want to talk to me on the phone. How do I know? Because I don't want to talk to you on the phone. Nothing personal, I just can't stand the thing.I find it intrusive and somehow presumptuous. It sounds off insolently whenever it chooses and expects me to drop whatever I'm doing and, well, engage with others! When I absolutely must, I take the call, but I don't do a very good job of concealing my displeasure. A close family member once offered his opinion that I exhibit the phone manners of a goat, then promptly withdrew the charge out of fairness to goats.

So it was with profound relief that I embraced the arrival of e-mail and, later, texting. They meant a conversation I could control completely. I get to say exactly what I want exactly when I want to say it. It consumes no more time than I want it to and, to a much greater degree than is possible with a phone call, I get to decide if it takes place at all. That might make me misanthropic. It surely makes me a crank. But it doesn't make me unusual. The telephone call is a dying institution.

As a mother and grandmother I worry about my kids and grandchildren but something so precious can become dangerous when texting.

General Cell Phone Statistics. The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. Nearly 330,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving. 1 out of every 4 car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving.

These numbers are alarming. If you haven't heard from your child do not text them. Wait it out or call them to see if they are okay. You don't want them to be a statistic.

Charged with Second- Degree Voluntary Manslaughter

In Kansas City, a 16 year old student caused a tragic traffic accident that killed a woman; 72 years old. This was the first texting and driving accident in the area. Rachel Gannon was charged with second- degree voluntary manslaughter. She will be treated as an adult in the case.

Two and Half Years in Prison After Fatal Accident

18 year old, Aaron Deveau from Haverhill, Massachusetts was charged for a fatal car accident in which he was the culprit because of texting while driving. His sentence included 2 and one half years in prison and a one year suspended sentence.

Collided into The Back of a School Bus

On the first day of school, 17 year old, Delanerah Logan collided into the back of a school bus while texting and driving. He succumbed to his injuries later on. Now, his parents are warning teenagers not to text and drive.

Charged for Homicide

A 35 year old woman in Newark, New Jersey, Jennifer Sahoye was charged for homicide when law enforcement authorities report that she caused the death of a 58 year old pickup driver, Carlos Carvalho.

Charged with Murder

While texting and driving, 45 year old Belinda Hudspeth killed a Belmont woman. The vehicle veered off the road and hit a trash can close to where the Belmont woman was walking to her neighbor’s house.

These people did not care about anything. They caused murder and injuries and are spending time in jail because of it. Was it worth it? I am sure they will say no.

We can't let this continue because so many get hurt.

Talking is free. Why do you need to pay for a cell phone to talk to someone. Cell phones were nice when they first came out and yes you needed it to keep in touch with loved ones.

Texting got in the way of talking. Don't text your loved ones or friends, talk to them. You may never see them again and would you really want the last words you said to them in a text?

Call them and love them enough to not text and drive.

Edgar Snyder Esquire https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cause-of-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html

By Jeffrey Kluger Fri August 31, 2012 http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/31/tech/mobile/problem-text-messaging-oms/index.html

Author Cheryl Whitsett (Updated 2017)