On sites like Facebook and Twitter, the main focus is communication. Reaching old friends, posting clever statuses, posting events, but all of these things are digitial. More and more often we are communicating through these digital sources, to our boyfriends, our parents, down to talking with our professors. This is important, but it may not be what our main source for "talking" should be.
A large part of our face-to-face conversation is Body Language. Although you may say something, your body may be expressing something completely different. For example, if you are trying to impress a boss you don't get along with, you may say nice things to them but have your arms crossed. A person's body language is not limited to just physical movements, but eye contact, space, or the way someone may talk. This is very important to tune into with others to see how they are truly feeling.
With this we need to evaluate ditigal conversations. The only part of the conversation we are hearing are the preconcieved well thought out sentences scrolling across the screen. A person may be simply portraying what they want you to see. With face-to-face conversations it is all spontaneous with no time to set out what is said. Also they can't hide their body language behind a computer screen.
Facebook may be a thriving new way to talk to people, but we seriously need to consider if this should be our primary source. We may be losing genuine conversation, and turning into an even more artificial society.
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