"Talk?, Face-to-Face?" OMG, NO WAY!!!!!

HOW DIGITAL MEDIA CHANGED THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE.

Before digital media came along, people used to have to communicate by what I like to call the "OLD-FASHIONED" way. I grew up in a time when people had to actually "TALK" to each other unless they were going to write a letter and send it through the mail. How it worked was people would use something called a "TELEPHONE". These machines were a lot like the "CELLPHONES" you see today only they were much bigger and attached to a cord that kept the user stationary. Some people would have a cord so long they could almost go out and check the mail but could still only go as far as the cord would stretch. A different type of "TELEPHONE" was a "CORDLESS" phone. It wasn't actually "CORDLESS" as you still had to have a cord connenting the base of the unit to an outlet in the wall, but the "HANDSET" could be carried without having a cord attached to it. Of course it could only receive a signal for so much distance from the base but it was a nice luxury over its "CORDED" counterparts. With these devices, people could communicate by picking up the receiver and dialing a phone number to the person they were trying to contact. Now, in the event that the person could not be reached, what was known as an "ANSWERING MACHINE" would be used to capture a message. These were devices that originally used "TAPE" to record messages but that is another topic of its own. A lot of things came and went from the time of the "TELEPHONE" to the age we are in today such as "PAGERS" or "BEEPERS" (also another topic on its own) and the arrival of the first "CELLPHONE" which looked to be the size of a brick. Technology quickly advanced and we were soon faced with a whole new way to communicate. People no longer have to actually "TALK" to each other anymore. They can "EMAIL", "INSTANT MESSAGE", or even use their "CELLPHONE" to "TEXT" messages to each other. Using something called the "INTERNET", people don't even have to TRY TO TALK "FACE-TO-FACE" the first time they meet. Through dating "SITES" on the "INTERNET", people can get to know who someone is before they even hear their voice for the first time. There are "SITES" like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace that people can use to build completely virtual worlds in which they live and broadcast their entire lives for everyone to see. I do feel that new technology has destroyed or at least crippled the "Art of Communicating". Well, maybe it has just changed the "Art" itself. Either way, it has become a VERY IMPERSONAL WORLD where someone can simply "DELETE" you from their "FRIEND" list and you can be out of their lives forever. Maybe I am just "OLD-SCHOOL" but I still prefer "FACE-TO-FACE" communication over the "OTHER WAY" most of the time. The only question I have is this, if we can know each other's LIFE HISTORY in an INSTANT, without EVER meeting in person, what are we going to be able to do in say, 20 years? Sometimes its a little scary to think about.