I want to follow up with Fred’s blog from Friday. He wrote a thoughtful blog about the power of restraint. Essentially, Fred observed, that often it is just better to “restrain [yourself] in the face of real provocation or perceived provocation.”

I commented that this is an important message in the techno world that we live in. Coincidentally, I had just received an upsetting text message from a friend. I had hastily written back a nasty reply. Luckily, I read my reply and quickly deleted it. I then put my phone down and literally walked away from it so I would not respond to her text. I truly believe that my efforts in walking away from my phone and her text message saved a 50 year friendship. 

In this techno world, it has become too easy to hide behind our keyboards and say things we may not have said in person. I do not believe that my friend would have said to my face what she wrote in the text. Similarly, another friend told me that a long-term boyfriend broke up with her last week through a series of text messages. Before text messaging, that conversation would have happened either face to face or on the telephone.

Restraint is becoming more and more difficult when we can easily type everything and anything we may think or feel.  Is the ability to quickly type all of our thoughts making us more confrontational?