It wasn’t that long ago that we were living in the “dark ages” of communications when you either had to mail someone a letter or call them and hope they picked up the phone (this was before voicemail!). Although things moved more slowly back then they were less prone to the perils of today’s instant communications where you can get yourself into trouble by simply pushing a button.
Most of us have had the experience of hitting the send button on our email and realizing at that exact moment that the email was addressed to the wrong person. We desperately try to stop the email from being sent only to realize it’s too late (I’ve yet to be able to stop an email from being sent once it’s in the outbox!). The only option at that point is to recall the email which guarantees that the recipient is going to read your message to find out why you’re trying to recall it.
While it’s hard to imagine how we ever lived without voicemail, it has also created another potential communication peril. For example, you’re leaving a voicemail message for an important client when you see an email come in from another client. You continue leaving your voicemail message while reading the email and you suddenly forget why you called. You smoothly try to ad lib while frantically shuffling through your notes trying to remember the reason for your call. Just as you remember you run out of time and the voicemail cuts you off in mid-sentence.
Texting is another modern communication method which can be perilous at times as a friend’s 16 year old daughter recently discovered. After having texted her father telling him she would be going to a girl friend’s house after school, she texted her boyfriend to arrange to meet him at a park. Unfortunately, she sent the text to her father, a mistake she discovered when her father texted her back saying he would be picking her up from school and that she was grounded for a month. Needless to say, things didn’t work out quite the way she had planned!
Technology is here to stay so we I say we should all embrace it. Just use caution when using modern day communications and beware of the potential perils which can happen at the push of a button!
