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
=ie( F#ll /ma&e
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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"+