Society of the Sound-bite

We live in a society of sound-bites. It’s not all a good thing.  
A guy in Bengazi tells a little tale of his heroics during a tragic event and a full length story is made of it. Fast forward a few months and the final story tellers are off the job for not vetting properly. 
Tens of millions of people toss a photo onto any of several websites, accompanied by a sentence or three that’s intended to convey something. ‘Had a blast! Escaped the weather! I’m here and you’re not! My kid’s the best! My new car! (boat, bike, clubs, etc) My latest meal! 
An additional tens of millions of people skip the photo and go straight to the 140 characters to chronicle their entire lives. 
And we whittle away endless hours pretending to really care about these people with whom we often have little to no relationship, knowledge or physical contact. 
Even digital media have entered the fray: Top 95 stories as told in ten words. Top 10 things trending now. Top stories….so critical they’re displayed in about 25 words. 
Dining hasn’t been able to escape the movement either. Take-n-bake, meals-to-go, rotisserie chickens and unbelievably now even fast food isn’t fast enough—for over a year we’ve been able to get fast food delivered. The ultimate in a food sound-bite. 
Say it, do it, buy it, listen to me now because I need to go.  Why are we becoming more like this? 
Nationwide nearly all states are showing a significant increase in ADHD diagnosis and treatment over the last fifteen years. How’s that fit into the soundbite theme? It’s directly related—–strictly my opinion. I’ll say again, directly related. I’d be of the camp that says the condition itself has not necessarily increased over the same period of time; rather our impatience with dealing with children when a quick trip to the doc is almost guaranteed to get a diagnoses then the corresponding mood-altering drug. Quick time expense by the parent, another way to abuse the healthcare system and problem solved. 
I recall the story told of me when I was a kid—5-6th grade maybe. I started getting in a little bit of trouble at school–demonstrating behavior that today would surely be diagnosed and subsequently treated as ADHD. Instead, conversations were held (read as time invested) and as it turns out I was bored with school–so some alternatives were laid out to fill my brain and body with positive, more challenging things other than chemicals. 
The Next Thing
Sitting around with a coke, tea or coffee with someone (or someones) requires patience, attention, respect. Conversation.  What’s happening right now, here. Why have we become so obsessed with what we might miss, what might happen down the road, how someone can quickly be exploited to our benefit? How can we expect to build truly trusting relationships if we won’t reach across the aisle, sit and have a coffee or lunch with someone, sit down our kids and ask them how they’re really doing? And yes, all without the ping, buzz and beep of our devices.  The next thing will still be next; it’ll still be there waiting while we’re engaging with the now. 
Many reasons are cited for the dramatic chemical dependency and suicide rates of soldiers returning from deployments. One reason repeated has been their frustration with losing the close relationships created with other soldiers. Pretty difficult to replicate the intradependencies created on the battlefield. Firefighters, law enforcement, running groups and retiree coffee-clubs. Relationships created on so much more than a photo and 140 characters.  
Sound-bites have a place. Who really wants to hear politicians or newscasters ramble unimpeded? On the other hand, a little self-policing to ensure we each carve out time to pick up the phone (no, not to text), schedule a drink or lunch, or even put down the phone and listen to weird uncle Al at Thanksgiving dinner will go a long way to preserving society that’s not reduced to a handful of characters, you’re-not-here photos and hashtags.