Even though the internet and technology is a fairly new advancement, to our generation, it has been around forever. We have grown up with it virtually our whole lives, whether you experienced the phenomenon that is MySpace on a chunky old computer, or you lied about your age to create a Facebook account as soon as you possibly could (that is still assuming that Facebook has an age requirement) (oh dear I do pray that it does). Technology has always been very prevalent in our lives.

While the internet and social media components of technology have served to extend our knowledge base and power to connect, some critics are wondering if this “connection” is real. Do your 1000 followers really represent the friends you have in real life, the ones that will help you through sad times and celebrate the good? Is what you talk about on chat real, or just words to fill the silence? While technology does seem to stimulate social interaction, it’s more harmful at times than it is helpful.

One of the worst things that technology allows, is the ability to instant message. Especially for young adults of our age, text and chat are one of our biggest dangers. First I would like you to ask yourself how you can convey emotion, inflection of voice, tone, pitch, volume, body language, and facial expression through SMS or the computer. Unless you are Shakespeare, I don’t think any of us get close to truly representing our thoughts through text. This system of fast-moving fingers and minimal characters opens up a whole new plane of communication, one that is ambiguous and up for interpretation. One that, if used incorrectly or in a fit of rage, can ruin a friendship or begin a war.

Technology also allows people to speak their mind freely and without consequence. Something you would have never said out loud is suddenly made a possibility with just the slight movement across the keyboard. It is quick and painless (before you press send) and people are firing back responses, arguments, and bold statements quicker than they can think about the real meaning and implication of their words.

As my grandmother would say, “before all your fancy fruit computers and small telephones…” there was letter writing, catching up over coffee, and walks in the park. The vast majority of people engaged in conversation that was face to face and personal. People thought about what they were going to say and how they would say it, picking their words carefully. You could be told a story in many different ways as well, not only through a person’s words, but their eyes, their gestures, their excitement. We’ve lost that.

Granted, it is not completely gone, but technology is slowly wearing down this treasured interaction by not only taking up our time with shows and the internet, but also teaching us the wrong ways to deal with our problems. Because it so easy to rant and speak our minds, we forget how to actually talk to one another. It shows us the parts of other people they put up on their profile, but not their real, raw self. It also gives us a forum with which to judge people before we have ever even spoken to them or seen in person.

Technology does many great things for us and has opened our world up to numerous advancements, but facilitating and building healthy relationships and interactive personalities is not one of them.