Too many ways to communicate

Instant Messaging, cell phones, cell phone voice mail, text messages, e-mail from PDA, e-mail from laptop, e-mail from desktop, VOIP, etc. After a while, this can cause one's head to spin. Eventually, will face-to-face discussions be the rare event in the communications realm?

I recall a day when I returned to the office from a meeting or lunch and scrolled through my phone messages and listened to voice mails. Eventually, people quit calling and started sending e-mail.

Now a days, I find myself having to check some of the devices/applications cited above to determine who is trying to communicate with me. At times, I have had urgent e-mail come in, someone texting me, someone IM'ing me, all simultaneously. Talk about the ultimate multi-task challenge!

Seriously, I truly feel that rendering the personal touch and developing the personal relationships have been greatly hindered due to the many wonderful technological advances we have seen. Like many of my colleagues, I do love this technology yet bemoan the long-term implications.

In the not too distant future, will grandparents sit down with their grandchildren and say "I used to talk or meet with people face-to-face" only to see their grandchildren express astonishment and ask why?