Are We Losing Touch, or Are Things Just Changing?

Communication isn’t getting worse; it’s just changing, like it always has. The real question is whether we can roll with the shifts or if we’re doomed to become the "get off my lawn" person.

Are We Losing Touch, or Are Things Just Changing?

Lately, I’ve been catching myself in these weird little moments—those flashes where I pause and think, Wait, am I… out of touch? I was born in ‘96, so I’m not exactly ancient, but something about how fast communication evolves these days has me feeling oddly disconnected. And it’s not just about keeping up with the latest TikTok trend. It feels deeper—like the ground rules for how we relate to each other are shifting under my feet.

Maybe It’s Just Me?

Maybe it’s the endless stream of new slang I have to Google. Maybe it’s how respect gets shown (or doesn’t) in ways I don’t quite get. Or maybe my brain is just feeling its age, which, let’s be real, is a wild thought in itself. Either way, I keep asking myself: Is it me, or is the world just… different now?

The Slow Slide into "Kids These Days"

Here’s the thing: When you’re young, you swear you’ll never be that person—the one shaking their head at the next generation like they’re speaking in tongues. I mean, we’re supposed to be the cool ones, right? We grew up on MySpace and Vine. We know what it’s like to live between analog and digital worlds.

But then you overhear a conversation or scroll through a group chat, and someone drops a “Bet” or “Mid.” Suddenly, you’re googling slang like an undercover cop. And yeah, I still cringe a little at “Mid.” (Seriously, mid is the insult equivalent of a wet noodle. Why does it sting so much?)

It’s not just the words, though. It’s this bigger shift in how people interact. There’s a casualness—sometimes a bluntness—that I can’t decide whether to appreciate for its honesty or side-eye as straight-up rudeness. And that’s where I feel the tension: Are they being rude, or am I just holding them to my version of polite?

Respect, Rewritten

If I’m honest, what trips me up the most isn’t the slang or even the speed at which everything changes. It’s how the norms around respect have evolved. Growing up, respect felt like a rulebook—say “please” and “thank you,” hold the door open, use formal titles when appropriate. Now? The rulebook’s gone. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it can feel super overwhelming at times.

Take texting. Someone hits me with a “k,” and my brain spirals: Are they mad? Did I do something? Meanwhile, they’re probably thinking, Look how efficient I’m being! Or worse—when someone calls instead of texting. Once a sign of respect, now it feels like a jump scare. And don’t even get me started on emails. Are we still doing “Best”? Have we all moved to “Thanks”? Should I just… not sign off at all?

But that’s the thing: it’s not that people are less respectful now. Respect just has a different face.

For Gen Z, respect seems less about formality and more about authenticity. A quick, genuine response means more to them than a carefully constructed one full of “proper” politeness. And while I admire that in theory, adapting to it in real life? That’s a whole other story.

Am I Old? Maybe Just a Little.

Here’s where I have to face facts: Some of this is just me getting older. (Cue the world’s tiniest violin.) When you’re young, you’re smack in the middle of culture—you set the trends and the tone. But eventually, that baton gets passed, and watching it happen? It’s a trip.

My brain is wired for the norms I grew up with: good grammar in texts, giving my undivided attention in conversations, assuming positive intent as a baseline. So when those expectations aren’t met, my knee-jerk reaction is, What’s wrong with them? when really, it’s more like, What’s different now?

That’s where I have to catch myself. The world doesn’t owe me consistency just because it makes me comfortable.

Change Isn’t Bad, But It’s Definitely Weird

The truth is, every generation deals with this. Remember when millennials like us were texting abbreviations and older folks acted like we were destroying the English language? Or when emojis first hit, and adults couldn’t figure out why we’d rather send a tiny pizza slice than type out a response? This has all happened before, and it’ll happen again.

The challenge is finding that sweet spot between respecting where you came from and staying open to what’s next. It’s okay to miss the old ways, like when typing out a full “thank you” felt like the bare minimum. But it’s also okay to lean into the new stuff, to learn it, maybe even embrace it (or at least tolerate it).

So, Are We Losing Touch?

I don’t think so. Communication isn’t getting worse; it’s just changing, like it always has. The real question is whether we can roll with the shifts or if we’re doomed to become the grumpy folks yelling at kids to get off the metaphorical lawn.

For me, I’m trying to stay curious. To ask questions instead of jumping to conclusions. To laugh when I have to Google something like “skibidi toilet” (again). And to remind myself that feeling out of touch doesn’t make me old, it just makes me human.