So, we thought that technology was the best thing to ever happen to mankind… until ‘real’ communication lost its course through text messages and emails and inbox messages on Facebook! I know…who does that? Technology has created many creative and wonderful ways for us to keep in touch with each other, as well as make our lives easier at the same time. With some people’s hectic schedules, it isn’t easy to keep in touch with family and friends and hard as it to believe, even spouses!For people in long distance relationships, it is pretty much all they have, which is why you are screwed if you have a partner - living God knows how many decades away- with a loathe for technology and what it has to offer. Trust me, I know a few.Most people are convinced that with emails, text messages and all these social network sites spreading across the internet like a wild bushfire, they are sorted. They assume that the more options they have with communication, the better they will be at it. But studies have shown that it is these same options that make us rude and lazy. (I read my stuff).I remember reading about one of my all-time favourite singers, Phil Collins, who notoriously ended his relationship with his second wife, Jill Tavelman in 1994… via fax machine! For a man who touched my heart in all the right places with his classic love songs, nothing could have shocked me more!I’m willing to bet the ‘gold-ish’ necklace I have in my jewelry box that Jill didn’t cry too much about it. She grinned all the way to the bank when she received her $34 million settlement. Not bad…not bad at all. But here’s the thing, when you are dating someone, you do so because you actually like them, right? Now, I assume that like turns into something else when you go ahead and marry the person. How rude is it then, to not give that person the courtesy of a face to face chat?It is not easy; I know some women tend to explain just how mad they are by throwing anything they can lift. But if a guy has watched Matrix, then dodging those things should be a piece of cake!Everyone considers themselves important and expects others to see them the same way. If we do not get courteous and considerate acknowledgement from others, we feel upset."I just sent my mum a text asking her how she’s doing,” said a friend of mine once. Really? You couldn’t pick up the phone and call her? "She gets a kick out of finishing my airtime. After a conversation with her, I’m always down on credit!” was the shocking response to my question. This isn’t just about your partner, it’s about family, and it’s about friends and pretty much anyone you believe you care about. Don’t give someone bad news through a text message, what is the matter with you? Don’t text to tell your family you just got a job promotion. And please oh please, do not text your spouse to tell them the relationship isn’t as sweet as it used to be!Many people have expressed their annoyance and frustration when their friends and family…and what they thought were ‘happily ever afters’ choose to text them rather than actually talk to them voice to voice. Texts, emails and what have you are things you should do if you only have little time, but should not be the replacement of real communication. So while we relish the pleasures of evolving technology and use it to our benefit (as we should), let us remember not to throw our manners and consideration out the window.