Breaking Up (Used to Be) Hard to Do
14 February 2007 at 2:43 pm Peter G. Klein 2 comments
| Peter Klein |
“Breaking up is hard to do,” sang 1970s crooner Neil Sedaka. But he didn’t have a mobile phone. According to a Virgin Mobile USA survey (reported in today’s WSJ), one in ten 18-to-34 year olds has dumped a romantic partner via text message. “Yes, the lack of face-to-face contact can avoid prickly encounters and get the deed done without bloodshed,” writes the Journal reporter. “But as we contemplate Valentine’s Day 2007, it also is an indication that interpersonal relationships today are often less personal and more cowardly than they used to be.”
Fodder for the Bowling Alone crowd. And helps put Radio Shack’s decision last year to fire 400 employees via email in context.
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1.
Jason Briggeman | 14 February 2007 at 6:38 pm
It indicates nothing about today’s relationships relative to yesteryear’s, because we have no data on whether, had cell phones existed back when things used to be however they were back then, more or fewer than 10% of 18-to-34 year olds at that time would have done the same.
2.
Cliff Grammich | 14 February 2007 at 7:08 pm
A riff on Jason’s comments–I’m guessing I keep in better touch with friends from my 18-to-34 days better than my parents did precisely because of the availability of e-mail, text messaging, etc.
And if it weren’t for such marvels of modern communication, I’d never have the opportunity to develop personal associations with any of the principals of this blog–none of whom I’ve ever had the pleasure of actually meeting in person.