“That Parent-Child Conversation Is Becoming Instant, and Online”

In the writing “That Parent-Child Conversation Is Becoming Instant, and Online” the author, John Schwartz, brings up some very interesting and important points on the instant messaging craze that has been going around for the past couple years. Schwartz talks about how instant messgaing can be a very positive tool but only if you can use it constructively. The very last sentence of the writing, “If the conversation is strictly virtual, she said, it’s not so different from saying, ‘I have a wonderful epistolary relationship with my husband, who I can’t stand’ “ (289), popped out at me and made me think the most. If all you did was sit at home and talk with people only on the computer and never in person how would you ever learn essential people skills everyone needs to succeed in life?

I fully understand how much of a help instant messaging can be. I’m a teenager and have used the hotmail messaging system plenty of times before. In his writing Schwartz talks about how instant messging can help shy kids come out of their shells, help deviate akward moments, and can actually help adults. I agree with all of his perspectives on instant messaging completely. Instant messaging can help with all of these and many more problems. If you need to get a hold of some one fast it would be way easier to just message them instead of send them an email and wait hours or maybe even days for them to reply. It’s also a good way to make new friends. It might be akward and hard for some people to make friends and instant messging can help avoid all of that.

Although instant messaging is a saint, it can also make some lives harder. If all you do is sit at home and talk to people online you will never get people to people interaction which is crucial for everyone to have. You may think you have a decent idea of who your talking to on the other end of the computer, but you don’t really know until you meet them in person. Again, the point of interaction with people being needed comes up. In addition, if you meet someone online and chat with them everyday you may think you guys would be good friends. However, when and if you meet that person it would most likely be akward because you don’t have that depth of interaction online as you do if you talk with someone in person. Don’t get me wrong, instant messaging has helped me too many times to count. But once it gets absued and used unconstructively it can do more harm then help.