Holding on to Past Practices

Here’s an interesting article from The Nielson Company on the media habits of our children. Among other things, our kids are out-texting every other age group. Only senior adults are talking less on the phone than our kids.

That reminded me how we tend to hold on to practices that worked in the past assuming they’ll continue to work in future generations. For example, think about how we’ve handled follow-up with first-time guests in the past. It used to be that home visitation was expected. In fact, I’m guessing my grandparents would have welcomed that.

When that became creepy, we started to make phone calls and send something in the mail. My parents probably loved getting something in the mail and then having the opportunity to make a personal connection with someone by telephone.

Then my generation started using answering machines and screening phone calls on their mobile phones. We stopped talking to anyone that wasn’t already in our contact list. When the nuisance of junk mail and telemarketing calls became a barrier, we found out that email messages offered a nice, personal touch.

Our kids don’t use email. They use their mobile phones like we used to use our computers. If we were trying to communicate with them, a text message or a social networking connection might work best. Of course, at some point those intrusions would also not be welcomed.

The practices look different, though, after we’ve made a personal connection with someone. If I know someone, I look forward to seeing them face-to-face. I can’t wait to get a letter from them or receive a phone call. Their email messages make it through my filters. I respond to their text and Facebook messages.

Isn’t it interesting how the same communications can be an intrusion and an annoyance in one instance and enjoyed and expected in another? When we have permission and a personal connection, it makes all the difference. That should probably change how we interact and follow-up with our first-time guests.