CMC = Social Retardation
Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) is a socially-numbing form of interaction. Calling someone has been bitterly replaced by SMS, and MSN, Twitter, Facebook and MySpace have also usurped the need to use your vocal chords. So why is it that we rely on machines to express how we feel? Especially when it is so damn frustrating to decipher what is meant behind a simple SMS.
When we were younger, it seemed like we loved to hear the sound of voices, and we would chatter non-stop as if it were the last time we would speak. When I was in puberty-ridden angst, AKA 15 to 16 years of age (and still hoping for some substantial growth, er… let’s not go there) I would religiously dedicate an hour’s worth of time to indulge in an illicit vice or *hang head in shame* an obsession, if you will. Yes, I was and still am a fan of Dawson’s Creek - I admit it. Anwyway, embarrassing admission aside, come 8:30pm I would flick to channel 10 and start dialing my friend’s phone number and for at least an hour we would comment on the palpable sexual tension between Pacey and Joey and diss Dawson’s irreparable and ghastly-looking hair. Roll the credits and we would still be chatting as if we just started.
This incessant need for vocal communication has become dormant among teens these days. The teens I know text during a TV show or chat via MSN once it’s finished but it’s not the same as vocal commentary - there’s no intonation in letters (the max you can do are caps, italics or bold), sighs, sneezes and coughs are obsolete and you can’t hear the person chuckle at your jokes (or not, heaven forbid). It is these things that make conversing so great. And CMC sucks as much as hoover when you are chatting with someone you have a hankering for.
For example, you don’t speak to each other for days (or at most you get a Facebook comment from them on an embarrassing pic your ‘friend’ purposefully tagged of you) and then you meet on MSN and you ‘speak’ to each other one sentence at a time.
“Hi!”
(wait for reply…. could be a while)
“Oh, hey! How are you”
(take your time answering back to appear as if you’re busy or just really popular chatting to other MSN mates)
“Great =). How was your day”
Argh! Even writing this was excruciating! Not only is MSN a felon of social retardation, but forget calling someone to see how they are/wishing them a happy birthday/sending your condolences/ etc. just send them a text! Yay! But apart from their 25cent-worth effort, it takes more effort for you to decipher what they bloody mean!
Pre-meditated communication usurps the spontaneity that comes with calling or talking face-to-face and don’t get me started on SMS lingo. How hard is it to spell the whole word “l8tr”? It’s just one more letter, people!
Anyway, that’s my rant.
“Gr8 time 2 nyt. Spk l8tr”
