With the recent introduction of Google+ beta, it seems there is a never-ending stream of social networks for us to get involved in.
Between Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and LinkedIn (to name a few) it is easy to see why so many people our age and younger spend half their lives glued to a computer or smartphone screen.
Some of us even feel stressed by the time we commit to sharing our lives with our friends.
What have we gained from all this social networking?
It was great in the beginning, connecting with old friends and keeping friends back home up-to-date on college news.
As time has worn on, social networks have become a breeding ground for stalkers, pedophiles and scams.
Not only that, but we are always in an information overload.
We learn far too much about people we barely speak to or haven't spoken to in years.
We are available to everyone all the time and feel the pressure to respond to messages and notifications for instant gratification.
There are times several people are in a room together communicating, but not even speaking to each other.
While we may be gaining some by sharing easier, we are losing too much in the ability to interact organically.
Teenagers today text more than ever as opposed to waiting on an ever-important phone call like generations past.
By spending so much time being social electronically, young people are losing the ability to carry conversations with others and face-to-face contact is lost.
Young people's writing skills are also dampened by the need to abbreviate simple words in messages.
While most of us a little older think this is either funny or annoying, many find it difficult to switch from text speak to proper writing.
Social networking has become a gargantuan part of our lives to the point where some people even give up Facebook for lent.
The self-deprivation of lent is meant to deny the self of something essential in preparation for the observation of Easter.
If Facebook has become that essential to us, that people think stepping away from it for 40 days is a challenge, we need to check our priorities.
What happened to the days when gathering together just to talk was praised and anticipated?
Kids growing up in this are missing out on things in their day-to-day lives they can't even comprehend because their heads are down and thumbs are blazing.
Google+ presents an additional challenge young people should be careful about.
When posting on the budding social platform, Google holds the rights to sell and distribute anything you post.
So, ambitious youngsters should be mindful not to post anything that would be incriminating if they dream of a life in the public eye.
There is hardly any media attention on this at the moment, something we feel should be changed.
Our generation is desensitized and overly-informed, with precious little to show for it.
Children should be enjoying their youth while they have it because growing up robs them of an innocence that is almost impossible to gain back.
With all their time wrapped in electronics, they lose the tree house adventures and make-believe games so many of us remember fondly.
It isn't just children wasting their lives away, though.
Many people of our age and older would rather spend their free time checking posts than walking around outside.
It's time we closed our laptops, visited with friends and remembered what's good in life.
We need to stop being social so we can be social.
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