Our “time-shifted” communications

I was talking with some friends about the fact that digital video recorders  (like TiVo ) have completely changed the TV viewing habits of those who have them.  The ability to record shows so easily and then watch them at your convenience, coupled with the ability to fast forward though the parts you don’t like – means many users no longer watch any “live” television. 

Experts call the technology time shifting, and it’s certainly not new.  In fact, old school technology like voice mail and e-mail have allowed us to time-shift much of our communications on a daily basis.  RSS feed readers allow us to accumulate our favorite web site news and blogs and conveniently hold them until we have time to read them.  Even social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn give us the ability to communicate with vast members of our friends and business network on mutually convenient terms.   

I wonder, however, if we haven’t taken some of this time shifting a little too far.  I sense that it has gotten very easy for people to avoid real-time, live contact.  I’m getting a lot more voice messages after hours – when people know I’m less likely to answer the phone.  I spend too much time in ”conversations” using e-mail.  After about the 4th or 5th e-mail exchange with someone, I wonder how much time and typing we could have saved if we had just called each other.  To prove how absurd it’s gotten, I recently had a lunch meeting participant send a Twitter update telling me (and the rest of the Twitter universe) that they would be late for our lunch!

All this time shifting technology is great, and I am convinced it has made communications more efficient.  But efficient communication is not always effective communication.  No matter what the technology, we are human beings and there will never be a substitute for the nuances of live communication.  In fact, I would suggest that the further away we get from being face-to-face, the more chance for the message to be lost.  The answer?  Use the right tool for the job.  There is a time and a place for each of the methods - but convenience should not always be the highest priority.  

If you find yourself using the technology to avoid live communication, put the “remote control” down and communicate in real-time.  There is no substitute.