Are you talking to me? Sorry, I didn't see the Bluetooth

It is not breaking news to say that the new technology age has made most people rude.

I’m sure almost everyone has experienced the friend who answers their cell phone while you are in the middle of telling them about your bad day or had to witness people that talk loudly on their phones that they practically force you to hear their entire conversation.

When did this become acceptable behavior?

This came my mind last night after I talked with my childhood friend from home. Her husband has recently been deployed to Afghanistan for a year and she told me that they’d been writing letters to each other ever since they had to say goodbye. She is going to get a scrapbook where she can keep them all.

After my sentimental heart recovered from this news I begin to think about how sad it is that people rarely write notes or letters to each other anymore. Instead we receive quick, rarely spell-checked e-mails and rushed text messages. These require no thought, not much interaction and rarely any emotional value. How romantic would it have sounded if I’d have told you my friend and her husband were exchanging e-mails? Not very.

It is more meaningful to write someone a note and to turn your phone off when you go out to dinner with your family.  It is thoughtful to look around you before you pick up your phone in a crowded area.

I can’t tell you how many times I have mistakenly thought that someone on their Bluetooth headset was talking to me and gotten a weird look when I responded to them. Hey, it’s not my fault your headset is hidden, you are talking out loud and seemingly looking in my direction. 

Another issue is the confusion or miscommunication that can come from conversing through instant message or other related devices. Anyone who has ever had a “fight over text” knows what I am talking about. This is when you mistake what someone writes to be offense and the two of you write mean messages to each other back and forth until you realize you have no idea how this began or why. I believe this happens because you are unable to see expression or hear the tone of their voice without person-to-person contact. Therefore, a joke can easily be misconstrued as an insult.

I am just as guilty of the misuse of technology as everyone else. I’m pretty sure I’ve e-mailed someone thinking it would be easier and I always sleep next to my Blackberry. But I want to improve.

I am not suggesting we throw out all technology and only communicate in person or through letters. I just think we need to be careful of how we use them and to ensure that we are maintaining our relationships off the Web.

Sarah Kehoe is the Columbia Basin Herald's health and education reporter. Her coworkers are a bit surprised at how rarely she is using her cellphone, and quite pleased to talk to her in person.