My New Year's Resolution...A Month Late

It took me a total of 20something days to figure out what it is that I want to resolve this year...and the answer was so obvious that I don't know how I didn't think of it soon before.

My resolution for 2010 is to quit wasting so much of my time on stupid technology (AKA texting) and bettering my real life person-to-person communication skills.

For real, think about it.

It seems that more and more lately, technology has made personal relationships way, way too easy. IMs. Facebook. Twitter. Texting. Ten years ago, if you wanted to make plans with people, you had to pick up your actual home phone and call someone.

Now, we can be contacted literally anywhere, anytime. Driving down the road? Check. Going to the bathroom? Check. Cutting down a tree in a forest somewhere? Check.

But while anyone can now call you anywhere...there's also texting.

Which eliminates the truly personal aspect of the phone...and makes things so much more difficult. Text. Text. Text. About everything. Lunch. Someone by you on the bus. If you're mad at someone.

Cell phone technology has broken down these forms of communication so much.

And lately, I've realized that I really, really miss them.

So while I don't plan on giving up my cell phone, I do plan on cutting back on the texting. Small texts here and there about random thoughts, fine. Huge text messages about something that happened the night before or to tell someone you're mad at them? No more.

From now on, I'm not playing the get half the story in 160 characters or less game. And if making plans continues to be such a huge mess via text, I may start only accepting invites via actual phone calls.

I am just so sick of the communication break down. How have we come this far? Why the hell do I see 8 year olds with cell phones? What's wrong with having an old fashioned land line conversation...or hell, a real conversation in person with someone.

And don't get me started on texting and driving (or holding your phone and driving). Thank God, I have Sync in my car.

So this 2010...I'm reverting to the way the dinosaurs did it...the way that's dying. Because maybe if a few more of us quit tapping out our messages and talking to someone, maybe, just maybe, the world would be more well informed, a little more understanding and a hell of a lot less confused.