I came to the interesting conclusion of younger generations. Our parents and grandparents obviously grew up in a different time; this factor being technology. If they wanted to spend time with friends or someone special, they would either show up at their house or have phone conversations attached to a chord from the kitchen. Parents approval was sought, and going “steady” was still a thing. There were common drawbacks though, like if the phone line was busy or they weren’t home after making the effort to appear outside their house. In those cases, it would have been helpful to shoot a text message to find out if Sally wanted to come to the dance with you. See, that’s just it…, sending a text message for something that should have been done in person. I’ve come to this realization that so many face to face interactions have been replaced with phone to phone methods, in order to avoid conflict. What if Sally says no? I have to deal with the embarrassment in front of her and all of our friends. This is common in so many ways. Here are five ways conflicting situations should be handled for younger generations.
- Arguments with BFFLS
We’ve all been there; we’ve all seen the “K” text message where you know your best friend is angry. I mean, why wouldn’t she be? After all, you have your read receipts on and you didn’t respond. How could you be such a bad friend? In retrospect, it’s amazing how long a fight can go on for such a small disagreement. Nothing says I’m mad at you like a short text message and no form of emoji’s or explanation points. This situation, if occurred in “ancient” times before cell phones existed, would most likely have never happened. That’s because interactions in person would have let the other person see reactions, instead of letting it bubble up inside of them. In the future, just take your read receipts off. Oh, and try meeting up for coffee with your best friend if you want to talk about how dumb your boyfriends are since they want to have guys night instead of watch Netflix with you. - Asking Out
Nothing says romantic like a sweet, sweet abbreviated text message. Or better yet, a notification that Jim Bob wants to be in a relationship with you on Facebook. Note: If she says yes, she might have some serious problems. If she says no, you should really reevaluate your technique. As in, stop being so cheap and actually take her on a date. Literally take her—pick her up at her house and walk her to the door at the end of the night. If you want to change your status on FB so bad, ask her by her doorstep like normal people. - Breaking Up
I realized that in the past three years, each relationship has ended in a variety of technological methods. Sure, it depended on circumstances, and sure, some of those ended by me. Luckily, a text message was not one of those methods—I would like to think I am a little too old for that. But yes, Skype has been used and yes, the good old fashioned phone calls as well. Breaking up when you’re long distance is hard. Depending on how much distance is involved, it could be an exception. Most cases, though, the balls haven’t dropped and the immaturity prevails. At least with Skype I could see him crying as he told me he can’t be in a relationship. Over the phone, I’ve been told a variety of things, like “I’m just stressed out” or “I just need this break up like a break… don’t worry… I’ll chase after you.” All of these are just excuses and proof that they are too scared and immature to actually deal with your reaction. Once, I literally had the exact same conversation, where I felt like I was having Déjà vu, that is how similar it was. Luckily, instead of crying or begging them to love me, I surprised them. I actually asked them questions, told them what they deserved to hear, and hung up feeling accomplished in my own way. If you are broken up with over technology, just know you are better off without them. That is it. - Sickness
Nothing says get better soon than a gif or meme! Except possibly the old-fashioned, visit to the hospital with overly priced flowers and a get well card. Even a visit to your house shows that someone cares. Too often, we post things to social media that lets the world know we are sick- yet no one takes advantage of this to come stop by. - Avoidance
Instead of letting someone know that you don't enjoy their company, you play the old ignoring game. That's great and all.. I mean when you receive multiple text messages in a row they should get the hint, right? Wrong. Not everyone is that bright, nor do they want to admit that you don't want to talk. It's best to be straight forward and let them know how you are feeling. Sure we don't want to, but it is the nicer thing to do in this situation.