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Why Gen-Y Johnny Can't Read Nonverbal Cues

- Younger people today spend many hours engaged in digital communication like texting, social media, and emails instead of face-to-face interactions. - This reliance on written, text-based communication means they are missing out on developing skills in interpreting important nonverbal cues from body language, facial expressions, and behaviors. - The increase in digital communication and decrease in opportunities for live social interactions may mean that younger generations are less adept at silently understanding other people's attitudes and reactions.

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Angela Jackson
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63 views

Why Gen-Y Johnny Can't Read Nonverbal Cues

- Younger people today spend many hours engaged in digital communication like texting, social media, and emails instead of face-to-face interactions. - This reliance on written, text-based communication means they are missing out on developing skills in interpreting important nonverbal cues from body language, facial expressions, and behaviors. - The increase in digital communication and decrease in opportunities for live social interactions may mean that younger generations are less adept at silently understanding other people's attitudes and reactions.

Uploaded by

Angela Jackson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Why Gen-Y Johnny Can't Read

Nonverbal Cues
An emphasis on social networkin puts youner people
at a !ace-to-!ace disadvantae"
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/n September 34456 (hen 7ielsen "obile anno#nced that teena&ers (ith cellphones each
sent and recei1ed6 on a1era&e6 86943 te2t messa&es a month6 the n#mber so#nded hi&h6
b#t :#st a fe( months later 7ielsen raised the tally to 363930 A year earlier6 the 7ational
School +oards Association estimated that middle; and hi&h;school st#dents de1oted an
a1era&e of nine ho#rs to social net(orin& each (ee0 Add email6 blo&&in&6 /"6 t(eets
and other di&ital c#stoms and yo# reali,e (hat ind of h#rried6 34<9 comm#nications
system yo#n& people e2perience today0
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$nfort#nately6 nearly all of their comm#nication tools in1ol1e the e2chan&e of (ritten
(ords alone0 At least phones6 cell#lar and other(ise6 allo( the transmission of tone of
1oice6 pa#ses and the lie0 +#t e1en these cl#es are absent in the te2t;dependent (orld0
$sers insert smiley;faces into emails6 b#t they don>t see each others> act#al faces0 'hey
read comments on Faceboo6 b#t they don>t ?read? each others> post#re6 hand &est#res6
eye mo1ements6 shifts in personal space and other non1erbal@and e2pressi1e@
beha1iors0
+ac in 8ABA6 anthropolo&ist Ed(ard '0 Call labeled these e2pressi1e h#man attrib#tes
?the Silent .an&#a&e0? Call passed a(ay last month in Santa Fe at a&e AB6 b#t his
(ritin&s on non1erbal comm#nication deser1e contin#ed attention0 Ce ar&#ed that body
lan&#a&e6 facial e2pressions and stoc mannerisms f#nction ?in :#2taposition to (ords6?
impartin& feelin&s6 attit#des6 reactions and :#d&ments in a different re&ister0
'his is (hy6 Call e2plained6 $0S0 diplomats co#ld enter a forei&n co#ntry f#lly competent
in the nati1e lan&#a&e and yet still flo#nder from one miscomm#nication to another6
ha1in& failed to decode the manners6 &est#res and s#btle protocols that &o alon& (ith
(ords0 And ho( co#ld they6 for the ?silent lan&#a&e? is acD#ired thro#&h acc#lt#ration6
not schoolin&0 7ot only is it #nspoenE it is lar&ely #nconscio#s0 'he meanin&s that pass
thro#&h it remain implicit6 more felt than #nderstood0
'hey are6 ho(e1er6 operati1e0 "#ch of o#r social and (orplace li1es r#ns on them0 For
Call6 breado(ns in non1erbal comm#nication too place most dama&in&ly in cross;
c#lt#ral circ#mstances@for instance6 federal (orers dealin& (ith 7a1a:o /ndians and
misconstr#in& their basic conceptions of time0 Fithin c#lt#res6 Call ass#med6 people
more or less ?spoe? the same silent lan&#a&e0
'hey may no lon&er6 thans to the a1alanche of all;1erbal comm#nication0 /n Silicon
=alley itself6 as the .os An&eles 'imes reported last year6 some companies ha1e installed
the ?topless? meetin&@in (hich not only laptops b#t iPhones and other tools are banned
@to combat a ne( problem: ?contin#o#s partial attention0? Fith a de1ice close by6
attendees at (orplace meetin&s simply cannot eep their foc#s on the speaer0 /t>s too
easy to chec email6 stoc D#otes and Faceboo0 Fhile a D#ic lo&;on may seem6 to the
#ser6 a harmless brea6 others in the room recei1e it as a silent dismissal0 /t anno#nces:
?/>m not interested0? So the tools m#st no( remain at the door0
Older employees mi&ht (ell accept s#ch a ban6 b#t yo#n&er ones mi&ht not #nderstand it0
-eadin& a te2t messa&e in the middle of a con1ersation isn>t a lapse to them@it>s (hat
yo# do0 /t has6 they ass#me6 no non1erbal meanin& to anyone else0
/t does6 of co#rse6 b#t ho( (o#ld they no( itG Fe li1e in a c#lt#re (here yo#n& people
@o#tfitted (ith iPhone and laptop and de1otin& ho#rs e1ery e1enin& from a&e 84
on(ard to messa&in& of one ind and another@are e1er less liely to de1elop the ?silent
fl#ency? that comes from face;to;face interaction0 /t is a sill that (e all m#st learn6 in
act#al social settin&s6 from people (often older) (ho are adept in the idiom0 As te2t;
centered messa&in& increases6 s#ch occasions diminish0 'he di&ital nati1es impro1e their
adroitness at the eyboard6 b#t (hen it comes to their capacity to ?read? the beha1ior of
others6 they are all th#mbs0
7obody no(s the e2tent of the problem0 /t is too early to assess the effect of di&ital
habits6 and the tools chan&e so D#icly that research can>t eep #p (ith them0 +y the time
in1esti&ators desi&n a st#dy6 sec#re f#ndin&6 collect res#lts and p#blish them6 the
technolo&y has chan&ed and the st#dy is o#tdated0
Still6 (e mi&ht reasonably pose D#estions abo#t silent;lan&#a&e acD#isition in a di&ital
en1ironment0 .ots of fols &r#mble abo#t the diffidence6 self;absorption and &eneral
#ncomm#nicati1eness of Heneration )0 'he ne2t time they face a t(enty;somethin& (ho
doesn>t loo them in the eye6 (ho slo#ches and si&hs for no apparent reason6 (ho seems
distracted and #na(are of the risin& fr#stration of the other people in the room6 and (ho
t#rns aside to ans(er a te2t messa&e (ith &lee and facility6 they sho#ldn>t thin6 ?Fhat a
r#de id0? /nstead6 they sho#ld sho( a little compassion and6 perhaps6 sei,e on a
teachable moment0 ?Ah6? they mi&ht thin instead6 ?another te2ter (ho doesn>t reali,e
that he is comm#nicatin&6 ri&ht no(6 (ith e1ery &lance and mo1ement@and that (e>re
readin& him all too (ell0?
$r" #auerlein* a pro!essor o! 'nlish at 'mory &niversity* is the author o! +,he
-umbest Generation. /ow the -iital Ae 0tupe!ies Youn Americans and
Jeopardi1es 2ur 3uture"+

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