I remember before smartphones, I hated texting. I refused to do it as you had to use the number keys on the phone for letters. Screen keyboards on the phone hadn’t been invented yet, and you were charged for each text sent. Most people didn’t use text at that time. It was more effort than it was worth. This was in the early 2000s.

Now, people text all the time. Your friends would rather send you a flyby text first thing in the morning or late at night. People rarely pick up the phone and actually call each other any longer, and it takes two days or more to make plans via text in what could have been a five-minute phone conversation. I had one of these instances happening over the last two days.

My friends and I were trying to make plans for this evening. It started yesterday afternoon. We tossed out ideas of places to go, but no one would commit to anything. Then one of my friends posted a pic of her out with her husband, and the conversation was shut down at 7 PM. She picked it back up at 8 am. It took until noon to decide on and verify a location. By this point, I was pissy and didn’t even want to go anymore. This entire thing could have been resolved in a 5 – 10 minute phone call and not wasted two days of my time while leaving my plans for the day up in the air.

I hate chaos. I despise it so much. This likely stems from the fact that my entire marriage was in constant chaos. Everything was up to me, between four kids and a husband who didn’t respect me enough to pull his own weight regarding the house or children; everything was chaos. Even when he decided we were going on some family outing at the last minute, he sat on his ass, leaving it to me to get all the kids ready and in the car. He would actually have the audacity to chastise me for taking too long. Then there were the times when he needed something RIGHT NOW, and everyone else’s day was thrown into chaos to gratify whatever it was he wanted.

I HATE chaos. I want things planned out. I want firm commitments. I want locations and times. I don’t want things to be wishy-washy. And I don’t particularly appreciate it when it takes two hours to get clarification. I feel like if you’re going to walk away from the conversation for two hours, it’s not really that important. If it’s not that important, then why the fuck are we doing this? And, of course, I can’t tell anyone of my frustration because that makes me an angry person. Suck it up, Buttercup! So here I am, venting to the word on a blog no one reads—just me, myself, and I.

It’s funny, technology was supposed to make our lives easier, and in some sense, it has. But it has also made us less connected; brought new frustrations. Technology has taken the place of real interaction and made us more isolated than ever before. So do me a favor; next time you want to make plans with someone, pick up the damn phone and call them, or at the very least, don’t walk away from the conversation before everything is confirmed. Because if it’s going to take two days to make plans, I don’t want to fucking go. Would you mind showing me that you respect my time too?

Thank you for attending my Saturday afternoon Ted Talk.

Tina General musings

One Comment

  1. I’m reading “the blog no one reads.” I feel like such a rebel. 😂

    On a serious note, I can’t stand the “maybe” type plans either. I would rather someone say no a week in advance then “think about it” until the night before. It drives me crazy and makes me very anxious. It’s just rude. It feels like they’re waiting for a better option to come along and I don’t want to be the backup option, ya know?? Anyways, I feel ya there.

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