Vanessa Castris

Com 330

Written Assignment 6

After reading the articles provided I am thrown for a loop. These days it is so hard to go an hour tech free, never mind a full day. I have been in certain situations where I had no choice but to stay of my devices for the duration of but essentially it is a huge part of my life. I found myself calling these articles garbage after reading them and can’t give them full credibility. I do not think that it would ever be useful to me to go tech free for a day. I don’t blame any of my poor listening skills on technology. I do know a few people who are so obsessed with technology who literally are so focused on it they do not hear a thing. Maybe these extreme tech people could use a break but ultimately I think that these people would focus on something more heavily. I feel that even before all of this technology people still did not listen properly to each other. I think it is a human habit that we have to train ourselves out of. Think back to shows like the honeymooners, they portrayed a normal relationship of husband and wife who don’t fully listen to each other and they had no technology. The idea of not listening has existed forever.

I do think that more face to face communication is good and helpful to increase your listening skills but that is only one step. I have found myself without a phone in my hand having a conversation with a friend and still not listening fully because of everything that was on my mind. I think sometimes you just can’t help it. Finding silence is not comforting to me. In fact I normally do not like silence because it makes my mind wander off more, listening to what is around me less. I know that not everyone is like this but everyone is different, which is another reason why I don’t agree with these articles.

I think that space for listening is good every once in a while but it does not have to be completely silent. It is just a process at which your ears and your brain need to be on the same page and focus has to be on the object at hand. If someone really needs to talk about something important, you have to make sure everything is working together. You have to train your head to block out everything else around you because the rest of the world is not silent. The world is full of distractions and noises and we have to fully adjust to it all and learn how to focus when you have to so you hear the whole message. I used to be a terrible listener but gradually I have been better at it by training myself to focus my ears, eyes and brain all together to the person telling me information. Learning to deal with noise and distractions helps more than trying to cut it out completely.