By Marianna Cooper
<[email protected]> 

While I am trying to work on my homework but am interrupted by my mom chatting away on the phone, I notice that she seems to have an easier time verbally communicating than I do. This lack of phone conversational skills for our generation can be attributed to social networking sites and choosing texting over making phone calls. Although texting has become socially acceptable, we are missing out on a major aspect of communication.

Many Americans seem to be choosing texting over phone conversations. According to the 2008 Neilson Mobile Survey, Americans made and received only 204 phone calls a month, but received 357 text messages per month. Although sending a quick text message is more convenient then having certain conversations, it limits the conversational practice needed for job interviews, in the workplace, and when networking. After becoming dependent upon having time to craft the perfect response during texting conversations, phone conversations can become intimidating.

Facebook, too, takes a toll on conversational skills. Some might argue that social networking sites have actually increased communication, considering the facebook.com press page lists that the site has more than 400 million users on Facebook and these users spending an average of 55 minutes logged in to the site daily. However, users have the option to skim over and edit their responses with every wall post, while there is relatively little time to think before speaking when on the phone or meeting with someone in person.

My mom often complains about Facebook and texting, reminding me that when she was in high school, friends called her home phone line when they needed to talk or work out weekend plans. Our parents had no other option than to make phone calls. As our generation moves into the workforce, we will have the option to connect through websites similar to Facebook and work through e-mail and texting on our phones.

However, these cannot replace the merits of building personal relationships through one-on-one, spoken conversations. Maybe I will take a tip from my mom and choose the occasional phone call over a text conversation.