In recent years, I have noticed that people no longer talk to each other. Texting, tweeting, and posting on social media has become the norm. I consider texting and tweeting to be the lowest sense of communication between us. I have seen people text each other while sitting at the same table in a restaurant, even before the pandemic.

Texting has its place in this fast-paced world we live in today, but it shouldn’t be used exclusively. For one, it should NOT be used to inform a loved one of a death in the family or the birth of a new child. Something as important as that must be communicated sincerely using your own voice, with emotion, not with words or emojis. Text messaging was invented solely by wireless phone carriers to add a new paid service to their cell phone plans. Actually, texting is nothing new; it’s just a revamped older form of communication: teletype and Morse code.

Have you seen any of the latest YouTube videos? I have seen several product demo and review videos with no spoken or no audio. I don’t mean just the videos that the “average person” uploaded, but the videos of the product manufacturers themselves. As a voice actor, this worries me. The videos show images or clips of the various products with subtitles on the bottom screen. Because? Have we lost our ability to verbalize something?

We as humans have been wounded with the power of speech. They taught us in schools to make vowels and form words. What happened? The next time you feel the need to communicate with a loved one, try a new idea: call them on the phone and talk to them. Let them hear your voice saying, hello! How are you?

Technology has a way of sneaking into our lives in the hopes of making everything in life more convenient. We all need to be diligent about how, where and why we need the electronic device before considering the often expensive purchase. Will it really make our tasks easier or much more complicated? Computers are great when they work right, but what happens when they go wrong? Technology must be kept in its proper place at all times.

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