Today we are communicating with each other in very different ways than we did ten or fifteen years ago. These changes are sometimes difficult for us but can be made easier with a little help....

“Change” by its very nature is not easy; requires us to do something different, to alter our behavior, skill sets, and expectations. Yet change is clearly inevitable. Rarely does the world around me seem to stand still for very long, however good or bad that may be.

Some of the greatest changes effecting our collective lives over the last 5 years have concerned the development of new communications technologies. These changes have swept over us rapidly and have had a great impact on the way we relate to the world around us and our social web. Perhaps what exacerbates our fears or anxieties is the realization that our children are acclimating themselves far more quickly and comfortably to these new technologies than we are. In fact many of them are actively embracing these new forms of communication. The twelve-year-old with three email addresses who sits nightly in a chat room, instant-messaging with three other friends, holding a phone to her or his ear while simultaneously downloading MP3 music files from the web is commonplace. But that picture is enough to send most adults into spasms of discomfort.

In an effort to help those of you who feel left behind or anxious regarding these new communications technologies, I would like to offer the following suggestions:

1. Look to your children as a source of learning. Ask them to teach you how to get into a chat room or “blog” (Web Log). Ask them for a tour of some of their favorite web sites. Go exploring with them!

2. If your children are “net-savvy”, ask them to take you to Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) or Hotmail (www.hotmail.com) and help you to set up an email account. Once you are set up, ask them to help you learn how to use it.

3. Once you have an email account, check it and use it with some regularity.

4. If you would like to join an internet discussion group on a particular topic, try joining one of the myriad discussion groups at AOL if you have an AOL account, or visit Yahoo Groups (Groups.Yahoo.com) for the same purpose.

5. If you are an absolute beginner and would like one or two basic lessons on using the internet and email, contact your local library, college/university or adult education center. Find out if there are classes on using the internet and computers. Chances are good that you will find the class you need to fit your schedule.

**This article cannot be reprinted without written permission from the author. Originally published March, 2003.