I pushed my straw around in a clear glass with my hand on my chin. Frustration had manifested itself on my face as I stared at the circles forming in my water. Anger didn’t seem the appropriate approach to something so trivial — even though this wasn’t the first time it had occurred. I had been interrupted.
In a sense, I had been restricted from continuing my train of thought, but it wasn’t by word of mouth. A television sat in the corner of the room, the lights flashing as scenes changed and the plot escalated. I realized that the show on the screen proved more important than my story as I noticed my friend’s eyes flicking between my face and the screen. I had been deemed less worthy of attention than a television.
I understand distractions. Campus squirrels regularly interrupt my daily discussions. Things flash out of the corner of my eye and people wave from across the street or café. They interrupt my train of thought or the casual conversation I am having with someone. But these are all examples that have been around since before our great grandparents learned to walk. Just as oral stories evolved into the written language and further evolved into radio and broadcast television, so too has interruption become more than a simple sentence disruption.
Interruption spans a variety of definitions today. With the advancement of technology comes the responsibility to realize that interferences in a conversation do not only originate from spoken word. Interruption and distraction are fairly interchangeable words thanks to cell phones and television.
It can happen the old-fashioned way when a friend talks over you or inserts their opinion before you have finished speaking — he worst is when someone begins another thought right when you say the last consonant. One, they weren’t truly listening to you because they began talking before processing what you had said. Two, they had interrupted the flow of the conversation by bringing up an entirely new subject.
More often than not though, interruption takes the form of new technology. Cell phones are the worst culprits as their small size and modern, casual usage allows them to overtly sneak into a conversation. I never realized how rude it appeared if I pulled out my phone during a conversation and started scrolling through it. Sure, I continued to nod my head and say “mhmm” or “totally,” but my mind was not fully present. I had consciously chosen to remove a part of myself from the discussion, and, thus, a section of me did not care about the interaction in front of me.
Our friends and acquaintances deserve more than that.
Nonetheless, interruption is a difficult concept because in some situations it’s a necessary evil. It can happen in cases of surprise or to stop someone from harming themselves or another. But it should not happen because you found a video of a cat chasing its tale on your phone or iPad. It should not happen because the commercial about Nike’s new shoes is on the television.
If you find that people don’t look you in the eye in a conversation or don’t have follow up questions because they have been scrolling through Facebook, just stop talking. Eventually your friend is going to realize that it has suddenly become uncomfortably quiet and there’s a good chance they’ll pick up on the hint. Once you have their attention again, just pick up from where you left off.
People are more impatient and distracted today than they have ever been in the past. But there is still a certain level of respect that we all need to hold each other accountable for.