In today's technology driven society, our teens and young adults have grown up in a completely different world than that of their future employers. While many employers are technologically proficient, they may not be technology dependent: they may enjoy the ease of technology, but it has not become their primary mode of communication. The corresponding "gap" in communication is most evident in dealing with conflict, whether in personal relationships or in the workplace. While employers are more likely to handle conflict in a one-on-one fashion, the up and coming young adults of this generation are more likely to text or email, rather than face direct interaction. In this article "Avoiding Tough Conversations", by Family Living Today (September 17, 2012), http://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/marriage/staying-married/resolving-conflict/digital-communication-wont-help-you-resolve-conflict?utm_campaign=mm-20120917&utm_source=CON&utm_medium=email-n&utm_content=Link-Header-Trouble_reading author Dave Boehi says that, "Our digital devices improve our lives in many ways, and they can be a boon to communication if used wisely. But it’s also easy to become so obsessed with being connected to your friends or to information on the internet that you ignore the people you are with at the time. And it’s especially easy to use e-mail and text messaging to avoid the difficult conversations, disagreements, or conflicts."
Let's face it, all of us would avoid direct confrontation if possible; the problem is that for this generation of young adults, it has become acceptable to text, tweet or email rather than talk when things get tough. We have raised a generation that lacks the people skills to handle conflict with grace. In today's teen world, your son or daughter is more likely to deal with anonymous cyber bullies hiding behind the feeling of power a keyboard can give, than deal with an actual "fight" at school. Gone are the days of the dreaded break up talk as now most teens find out their relationship is over when their "other" changes their facebook status to "single" or "its complicated". While this ability to avoid conflict may ease uncomfortable feelings in the present moment, the miscommunication, misinterpretation of messages and misunderstanding of motives will lead to worse conflict in the future. Our teens need the people skills to deal with difficulty. They must be able to communicate directly with employers, co-workers and difficult customers; let's make sure that we give them the opportunity to learn the skills they need: turn off the tv, put the ipad away and turn the phone on silence...and talk around the family dinner table tonight.
http://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/life-issues/challenges/media-and-entertainment/are-we-replacing-conversation-with-connectivity
