More Conversation?!?

Well after yesterdays thought provoking entry "ahem" I thought I'd better get back to something a little more insightful this evening. Nothing else his piqued my interest just yet, although I'm sure I had some stuff I said I'd talk about a while back . . . I thought I'd write tonights musing as a continuation of my friend's conversational dilema. My main thought over the last few days is that, in general, people today find conversation difficult to do. Things is, we live in a time when technology is increasing communications potential exponentially; through mobile phones and the web chiefly, the develpoed world at least, is clearly communicating far more than ever before. Yet, it we look closely at these means of communication, they are far removed from, what I think really is, an essential part of communicating successfully: face-to-face interaction. Psychologists tell us that MOST of our communicating when we engage with each other face-to-face (from now on f-t-f) is NON VERBAL. Blimey, if this is the case, and I do see where they are coming from at least, this leaves the modern generation at a considerable disadvantage. For you can not get through life without any f-t-f just yet, it still has to be among the skills one needs in life, and I shudder to think of the day when it really is no longer needed. And so, with all the increase in communications, are we actually increasing our interaction? Not one jot. For within the email or the text message, there is no instantly recognisable feel or emphasis to the words in front of you; you can not know half as well, what the persons intentions, or indeed, intonations were from the printed word. Yes we devices such as 'smileys' but this still gets us preciously little closer to the information one can pick up in a f-t-f conversation.
Ok I've already written masses, so I'll leave it here for tonight, and (hopefully!?) finish off with this tomorrow.
rik