Technology is rapidly evolving with more ways to communicate than ever before. WhatsApp, FaceTime, Instagram, texts, as well as platforms like Facebook Messenger and dating apps are opening doors to the wider world. You can even send someone a text when you’re flying at 40,000ft these days, but does anything truly beat a good old fashioned heart-to-heart?
New Zealand’s most admired wine brand, Villa Maria, has been built on pivotal conversations – between friends making plans across a vineyard, growing into the introduction of pagers and faxes, to a now world-renowned business communicating across continents. Villa Maria’s newly-launched Value of Conversation campaign is exploring just how technology has changed the way we communicate. From landing your dream job, meeting the love of your life, making new friends or reconnecting with old pals overseas, we reveal how technology has impacted your conversations for the good and the bad.
Word of mouth is how people have historically learned from each other, passing down family traditions, stories and even favourite recipes that are treasured forever. Fast forward to today and only 37% of Brits would choose to speak face to face over other ways of communicating. Millennials, having grown up with technology, use it with ease and don’t always place much importance of chatting in IRL (‘in real life’, for those of us not au fait with text speak), with just 27% making sure they check in with loved ones in person. Surely, there’s got to be something said for sitting down in person for a proper catch up over a glass of wine?
When it comes to instant communication, mishaps are common. A ‘lol’ or smiling emoji (or lack of) can leave a message open to interpretation and you’re not alone, as a staggering 70% of people admit that they’ve got the wrong end of the stick with a message or two.
As the world craves instant updates, people are turning to smart responses or emojis and more people are now using group chats to keep up. At the moment, 2.6 million British adults are in group chats to regularly keep in touch on family gossip and news, whether it’s new jobs, travel plans or baby pictures. It’s been a long time since having to wait for letters to get delivered – that’s if they arrived at all. Nowadays, moving away doesn’t have to mean our loved ones miss all the important milestones.
These days, one in five Brits spend three hours or more on social media each day. It makes people’s lives more accessible and can make distance feel irrelevant. Over 19.5 million (37%) Brits feel that technology has given them the keys to keep in contact with family and friends who they might have otherwise lost touch with when they moved away.
Meeting a partner online has now become perfectly acceptable too, as 4.7 million Brits admit that technology has helped them find love. Apps, dating websites and social networks have allowed people to cross paths with potential lovers, and start a conversation they might not have had otherwise.
We all know that some of the best conversations are about a flow of dialogue, and some of the life-changing ones are where you learn something new. These days, 70% of people believe that technology plays a huge role in their confidence while having a face to face chat. Being able to quickly ‘Google’ a topic or check the latest headlines can certainly be a lifesaver.
But while we use these tools and for the most part they enhance our lives, it’s always worth taking some time for a face-to-face. Nothing beats the rapport that you can build with someone when you share a conversation in person. After all, over 60% of us find body language key to how we interpret a conversation, as well as being a key element of building confidence in our relationships with others. So, as we have more tech at our fingertips than ever, we need to make sure it has a positive influence on our lives and use it in a balanced way.
As part of its expert #VillaMariaTalks series, Angela Lewis, brand ambassador for Villa Maria, spoke with journalist and author Seamas O’Reilly about his decision to take a vow of e-silence and respond to all emails using only smart replies for a week.
Villa Maria’s Value of Conversation
The founding of Villa Maria hinged on a pivotal conversation between Sir George and his father, and conversations have continued to play a crucial role in making Villa Maria one of the most successful family-owned wineries in the world. Villa Maria thinks it’s time to celebrate the value of conversation in our lives and remind the world of the pleasure of taking quality time out with friends, colleagues, loved ones – or even strangers – over a glass of wine, while celebrating something truly invaluable: conversation.
Throughout the summer, you can expect a whole host of chatter from Villa Maria and Metro – we’ve been asking the nation what makes conversation so special to them, uncovering our secret likes and dislikes and taking the time to sit down with experts in their fields and pick their brains about what they feel is so special about the Value of Conversation.
All of this, along with series of expert talks (over a glass of Villa Maria wine) will delve into four important aspects of conversation, which you can explore here over the coming weeks. So, grab a glass of wine and a friend, sit back, and enjoy!
For more information about Villa Maria wine visit: https://www.villamariawines.com/
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