Angst, Anxiety, and Instant Communication
Up until about middle school, if someone wanted to speak to me, they had to call the house phone – and most of the time I wasn’t available because I was outside playing with the other neighborhood kids. Once I received a cell phone- around 8th grade – My “minutes” weren’t free until after 9pm and there was a limited amount of text messages I could send in a month. So my angst for constant and consistent communication didn’t develop until I was in early college. The ability of a person to respond immediately to a text message, or to know a person’s location at all times may have some consequences that weren’t considered before. While these things allow peace of mind for many people, in terms of knowing that their loved ones are safe; it can also be the source of anxiety and angst. This made me think of my own family and the way that instant and constant communication has affected us.
After homework and chores were completed, I spent the
afternoons outside in my neighborhood. There was no tracking device and no way
for my mom to call me if something happened. I just knew that I had to be back
home before the streetlights came on and that if she really needed me, she knew
how to yell down the street or call a neighbor (lol). If I fast forward to today, my mother and
sisters have my location and if for some reason they can’t see it; or my phone
is off there is immediate worry. If I take just a little too long (based on
their standards) to respond to a text message, they worry. When I started
dating my husband, there was a certain level of angst that came with him not
responding to my texts “fast enough” or not answering when I called.
I greatly benefit from how communication has developed. I
can call, text, direct message, or facetime anyone that I want to get in
contact with at any given time. We have come a long way from calling house
phones, and even further from mailing letters. However, I am curious if this
has created an anxiety in us that did not exist when instant and constant
communication was not the norm.
Hello! Thank you so much for this really intriguing post. I spoke in a different response on how I knew that I would not be moving 12 hours away from home if I did not have Facetime to be able to see my mom and dad's face or texting to keep my friends posted on the latest drama in my life. While I love the fact that I can call, text, or facetime my friends and family, I also send them letters! It is interesting because I send them letters that are deeper and more sentimental, while my text just lets them know that I made it home. But it's that "made it home" text that really leads to the anxiety you allude to. I never have thought about this anxiety extensively before, but it certainly is part of a growing culture in that communication has become so consistent in our lives that the decrease or lack of it defintiely throws a wrench in it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is so cool that you still write letters! I can't say that I know anyone who does outside of individuals who are in military boot camp and are writing home to their families. I can't recall the last time I wrote a letter. Maybe I'll try that.
DeleteVery interesting post! For the anxiety due to instant communication, I definitely do have it. I don't usually turn on the notifications on my messenger apps because I don't want to get distracted while I'm working on other things. And because I also don't check the messengers frequently either, when I open them up, sometimes a lot of messages have filed up. Most of my acquaintances seem to be understanding me, but while having a conversation with a person, I found that they feel disrespected or annoyed by not having their messages replied fast enough. Then I got to have this anxiety that I should reply as quickly as possible and otherwise, people could get upset. But that's not really a way of conversation that I feel comfortable with.. I sometimes miss the time that you mention, when there were limits in the words and number of text we could send, and when people didn't expect their messages to be replied instantly.
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