" It's Not What You Brought to the Party, it's What You Left WIth."

               Over the past few decades, communication has been transformed drastically. From the creation of the internet to the mass popularity of cells phones, as a sort of necessity for the modern age, people no longer find writing letters or talking in person or on the phone the only way of useful communication. Texting, emailing,instant messaging, and other forms of less personal, and arguably impersonal, methods of communicating with people have become second nature. People meet and date each other over the internet, others break up via text message, and yet it seems most have become accustom to this form of interaction. Could it take away social anxiety? Yes, some say. But others believe that it is replacing physical human interaction, and fundamentally changing society on a global scale. Maybe our kids will be so comfortable with instant messaging that they actually would prefer it to hanging out with their friends in person. Maybe they will prefer to play video games with someone on the other side of the World, than to go play ball with the kids next door. Could this change human interaction so much that future generations will eventually be unable to read body language or nuances or implied meanings or anything like that which we use in addition to reading or hearing words? Could interaction become forced and impersonal, without color and personality, lacking in consciousness and innate understanding?

              Ok, so this is a little drastic, but really, think about how it was when our generation was growing up. When we had to call our parents, we used pay phones if we could find one; or we just planned really well and told our parents our plans way in advance. When we had to tell someone something, we either spoke to them in person, or called. Now we email or text; I mean, I've seen people sitting next to each other texting back and forth. While yes asking strangers questions (like for journalism) is a little less intimidating through email, people have come to fall back on this method and other similar ones, for sharing information they should probably share in person. For example, I was wandering around on the CNN website and found an article about sending e-cards to notify past sexual partners that they should get tested for std's.....What?!?!?!?

             While public health officials have declared this as better than nothing because letting the possibly infected person know trumps the impersonality of it, according to the article, it seems to me that that's the sort of news that should be heard in person; or at the very least with a phone call. I concede to the idea that it's better to let the person know regardless of how, but that very fact that people are too uncomfortable to tell a past partner in person, says so much about the type of interactions that have become so normal. 

             Think about it, would you rather get a card that says, " I got screwed while screwing, you might have too," or would you rather be notified in a way thats a little less informal. Oh, and the title is another line from a card.