Social Interaction Today

Today's social interactions have changed from what they used to be in the past. It seems that back when the pace of the world was slower people took the time to have meaningful interactions with people they ran into even if they weren't more than just an aquaintance. Today we may not even talk to our family members for more than five minutes.
We all seem to spend time texting or messaging other people all the way across town or even across the country instead of paying attention to the people five feet from us. I think that while technology has done great things for us it has also weakened some of our communication skills. Since I work in a pharmacy I realize how people are always in a hurry and it affects their communication with me. If I ask to many questions and hold them up people tend to get snippy.
 There is true convenience in a text or an e-mail and I do think that they serve their purpose for things that need to be communicated quickly but long conversations are better when in person or at least on the phone. Hearing a person's voice helps us to identify the tone in which they are speaking, which helps us to understand the context of their speach.
Its not always the length of a converstion that matters, simply making eye contact and showing concern for what the otehr person has to say makes a huge difference in great communication.
In the pharmacy there is a wide variety of patients. The younger patients want to get in and out as fast as possible and rarely make good eye contact. The elderly customers are my favorite because they are very appreciative of the efforts we make to help them. They also are the ones who make good eye contact and will talk to you even when they aren't prompted to do so.
If I could change anything about communication today I would want to make our social interactions more meaningful. I would want people to be more sincere when asking "how are you?" and also to not act like it is a burden to be held up for a few minutes to simply talk to another person like a human being. I believe that the world needs to go by a slower pace and realize the little things still count.