I was complaining to my daughter and her husband a few weeks back that as a society we're losing the art of communication because everyone has their nose buried in their smart phone.

My son-in-law, Christopher, remarked that he actually does MORE communicating now because he can stay in contact through Facebook and Twitter with a larger group of his friends and family than ever before.

That got me to thinking that maybe all this technology hasn't so much eliminated conversation as it is enhancing it and that maybe we're in the middle of another major evolution in the way we communicate.

Eons ago, people left messages on cave walls. Then they sent messages by carrier pigeon. Later they wrote letters delivered by the Pony Express.   For centuries, people wrote to other people; and the delivery of those letters took forever - sometimes were even lost for decades, only to be delivered eventually.

Letters have always been the primary means of communication - that and having an actual conversation. Our world was small back then, limited to our immediate vicinity - unless of course we wanted to set out on foot or chariot or covered wagon (note how I'm jumping all over the historical timeline? )

Eventually (and not until 1809) the first crude telegraph was invented by Samuel Soemmering; the first electromagnet was invented in 1825 by William Sturgeon; then it was another ten years before Samuel Morse proved electric signals could be transmitted.  

The first public demonstration was in 1838 but it wasn't until 1844 that an actual telegraph was used for something important.

Do you history buffs remember what that was? The first news deployed by electronic telegraph was that the Whig party had nominated Henry Clay for President. The date was May 1, 1844.  

Thirty years later, in March 1876, Alexander Graham Bell uttered the first words over the telephone. He said, "Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you".

Suddenly the world began to shrink. Now, think about that.... Isn't it amazing just how far the telephone has come in 136 years? And actually, the great strides made in just the last 30 years surpasses the first 100 years by leaps and bounds.

The point is, with every new technology, the world gets smaller and the ability to communicate gets faster and easier.  

I'm sure the people who wrote letters thought it was a travesty that dots and dashes could replace the romance of the written word. One can only imagine what they thought when the telephone came into play.

Soon it would be faxes, and pagers and email, computers and cellphones and Facebook, Twitter and iPads and applications galore. Technology and the ability to communicate quickly have transformed our culture and society.   We still write, but we're no longer dependent upon a slow or archaic delivery method.

For what it's worth, the postal service is still fantastic, especially when you consider how efficiently they deliver mail for so little cost. However, most of the time I prefer the instant gratification and nearly real time ability to communicate via technology.

Personally, I love Facebook. Yes, it's annoying to read some of the drivel that is posted. But the joy of Facebook is in the ability to stay close to those you love most.

When I was a kid, we lived 1500 miles away from my grandparents so we only got to see them once every year or two or three. We spoke on the phone but to actually see them or get pictures or stay involved in their life was nearly impossible and we accepted the fact that our relationship was minimal at best.

Today, I live 2 ½ hours from my 3 year old granddaughter but with Skype and Facebook and Instagram, I can see her, talk to her, and read her a book if she wants.  

We are able to connect far more frequently than we can be together in person. And that's true for so many families, friends and loved ones who are separated by more than the L.A. basin.

I have 'friends' now on Facebook that I'd lost touch with over the years. People from high school and people from past lives (not in a Shirley Maclaine sort of way, but figuratively, from prior work experiences or geographic changes) and family members with whom we'd lost touch after the loss of a connecting relative.

I suppose Christopher is right - the world is changing yet again. I do miss the romance of the written word. Handwritten thank you notes and love letters especially are to be cherished; they're such a rarity.  

And I also miss the art of conversation sometimes, even though some of these people I'd rarely (if ever) speak to without technology. The truth is, it is far more important to connect, even electronically, than it is to not connect at all.

At the end of the day, life isn't about how much money you make, where you live or what you drive.   It's about the relationships in your life, how you cultivate them and the quality of the time you spend together.  

If technology can allow us to do all of that, then I say 'why not?'  Fire up those computers and cell phones and make a connection today!...