Remember that thing called the telephone?

Remember that thing called the telephone?

Comment by Tim Benson, publisher B2B Magazine.

Teenagers today have a new name and it is ‘screenagers’. But, of course, this doesn’t only apply to teenagers. Today it also applies to Gen Xers and Gen Ys (most BabyBoomers have good manners and keep their screen-time to sensible levels).

Everything that could pass for interaction with a person, involving either looking them in the eye or speaking directly to them, can now be done via the screen.

Now, don’t get me wrong, as a publisher, I spend hours in front of my screens (desktop, laptop, phone, tablet and TV ) and have probably written and sent a total of five personal letters in the last 10 years.

I use email, CRMs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Buffer and have multiple websites etc. I do publishing, sales, marketing, networking and bookkeeping – all via the screen.

But here’s the rub. What really gets my goat is when you ask a Gen Y to pick up the phone and ‘ring’ someone, they feel it is absolutely ok to substitute an ’email’ or a ‘text’ in its place. I’m here to tell you it is not ok to do this. In fact it is ‘never’ ok to do this.

When you ask, ‘did you contact ‘so and so” and the answer is ‘yes’ and you find out later an email or text was sent, it is enough to drive you up the wall.

I think there is is a market out there for someone to teach these young Gen Y whippersnappers the art of using the telephone. This could include:

1. How to ask for the person you are looking for
2. How to ask for someone else that can assist with the enquiry
3. How to leave a message for the relevant person with all of the relevant information.

This is not too much to ask, is it? Oh, and don’t get me started on the Gen Y that informed me recently that the don’t ever answer their mobile phone and that if I wanted to communicate with them then I had to message them.

Rather than cry I LMAO.