Social media and just technology as a whole are relatively new to us even though our generation has mastered them so quickly. It began with listening to our older siblings and cousins talk about myspace; but, we didn’t get a real taste of social media until Facebook became popular in 2009. However, when does social media stop being a convenience, and start being a barrier between people?

We are distancing ourselves from the world and the people around us all while the statistics and facts are where the problem begins. According to The Telegraph, teenagers spend 31 hours a week online and, according to Mashable, adult Americans spend 11 hours a day with electronic media— including the Internet, video games, TV and phones. Now, according to the Pew Research Center, only 15 percent of adult Americans do not use the Internet.

We weren’t always like this. We used to play outside with our friends and laugh at them when they fell down. Now, our friends tweet about their endeavours and we respond with a “lol” and a straight face.

Eleven percent of people, according to USA Today, would rather communicate with people using technology than talk with them face-to-face. Not only do we miss out on the simple presence of someone else with us when we use devices to communicate but, according to Psychology Today, we also miss out on body language and eye contact. Both of these are important to have a connection with the person you are talking to.

With all of the amazing technology that has been coming out over the years, we sometimes forget to just turn everything off and meet up with a group of friends. We forget what it feels like to have a conversation with real people where we don’t have the advantage to plan out a response to say back. We forget how to do what we do best: socialize.