Since I was born into the generation lucky enough to catch the tail end of the '90s, I can still remember a time without all of the advanced technology that we have today. Granted I still grew up not knowing a time without any technology, but at one time I did know how to function effectively without using the technology.
The norm for my everyday life is completely different than the norm when my parents were my age. I have grown up in the age of "To post or not to post" and I am comfortable expressing myself through various forms of written communication with relatively no consequences. This can have a major effect on my verbal communication skills, because online I can stop and think about what I want to say and edit what I want to say as many times as I want until it is perfect, whereas my verbal communication skills will suffer since I am unable to sit and think and immediately edit what I said because it isn't perfect yet. I know I am guilty of editing something over and over until I think it is perfect. I also find myself getting anxious when I have to come up with something on the spot when talking to someone.
In class we talked about how dating has changed over time (quite relevant for me these days). There are sites like Match.com, Tinder, OkCupid and eHarmony, to "meet" people, which give the option to pick and choose who they talk to. Another change in the dating scene is that no one wants to give out his or her cell phone number. I find that extremely true and strange! We think that giving someone our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram information is somehow less personal than our phone number. We have readily available information all over our social media accounts just waiting to be viewed. How is that not personal? Maybe it is because we put the best of the best on social media and very few bad experiences, if any, so we subconsciously view social media as less authentic. Or maybe it is because social media is less of a direct way to reach us. I tend to think it is more of the latter, but a little of both. What do you think the reason is? I would love to know what you think!