are we losing the art of face to face conversation.. I fear for us at times..?

[#######]

Are we losing the art of face to face conversation for our phones?
Everyone is so addicted to their phones, social media etc that is actually talking to ppl face to face is becoming a thing of the past?
We all love our phones! but but surely actual human talking is good too? using the phone is often an excuse for not talking,or making an effort, I think. Seems ppl make no effort anymore esp if they don't know the person well, say at work at lunch or a social situation.

if you are with ppl is it OK to casually say "hey, Im here too can we talk?" or similar if they are using their phone? or is that needy and insecure? when is it Ok to say anything and what should be said?

I fear that in the not so distant future we will be humans that cannot communicate face to face with each other...
I love my phone too, but do like talking too.


thoughts?
thanks
no nasty answers please! its jus a question!! this is in this section as I got nastiness somewhere else.

[Shih Tzu]

What bothers me the most is that we make statements 'AT' one another, or ask a question of someone without having to look at their eyes. For instance, how can you ask someone out over text? How would you know how your request was received?? With excitement? With an eye roll? Or maybe worse?

Does texting allow people to do what they are unable to do in person? And does it allow us to mislead our selves? I'd rather speak with someone while looking at their face. So much more is communicated when you are face to face.

[Generalist]

Gen.

I have read complaints from HR executives that they cannot fill jobs because people communication skills are dwindling, and group skills are becoming more rare than in the past.

[Sang]

I hate face to face, long before the internet. So it's better for me.

[Ronnie]

If I'm with someone I make extra effort to keep the phone in my pocket. I'd prefer to see and feel people's reactions, to experience full emotions.

[Best Guesser]

No. I think that the occurrence is diminished, but the need for actual face to face conversation will never go away.

I work in the Industrial Maintenance field. We have had walkie-talkies for decades, and they are very useful. But I find that when more information is needed to be exchanged quickly, nothing beats face to face.

I think we are all just fortunate to have so many options available to us now. Incidentally, I do use FB to stay connected to friends and family, but actually quit carrying a cell phone last year. I don't often miss it either.

In my opinion, these are the ways and effectiveness of communication, in order of effectiveness.

1 - Face to Face. Fastest and usually the most accurate (can be uncomfortable to some when certain types of information must be exchanged).

2- Telephone voice conversation. Still very accurate, without the benefit of seeing the other persons facial expressions or knowing when you have their undivided attention.

3- Two-way radio conversation. Fairly accurate, close to telephone quality, with no privacy.

4- Instant message. Very accurate depending on the literacy of the sender. More time consuming for information exchange.

5- e-mail. Again, accuracy completely dependent on the literacy of the sender. Much more time consuming.

6- Text. Communication is diminished, too many text shorthand, acronyms, abbreviations and chances of misunderstandings. Cumbersome and time consuming depending on how well the two communicators know and understand each other to begin with.

7- Snail mail. Accuracy completely dependent on the literacy of the sender. Much, much more time consuming and cost prohibitive.

8- American Sign Language (ASL) and semaphore. Most people don’t know how to sign nor understand sign language. Only accurate under some circumstances.

If people ignore me to do ANYTHING, I just walk away. If they don't want me to, and stop me, I explain that I thought they were too busy to talk (to me). They get the hint quickly.

[Special EPhex]

A lot of people think so. I don't know for sure, because I don't know anyone who is consumed by it in my social circle. It could be true for the younger generations who grew up with it.

[Rinah]

Not sure we ever had it in the first place.

What Is The Meaning Of Life?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b98vi-Ypg...874F4BABCA

[Fake Genius]

what about side to side conversation?
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/arch...81095i.jpg

"hey, Im here too can we talk?"
"about what?"
"whatever"
"idk about whatever!"