IâÄôve never been a member of Facebook or Myspace and have never spent my time blogging. Some might say that I just donâÄôt understand âÄî which is fair. I donâÄôt really want to understand. So Facebook has never been âÄúa necessary social functionâÄù for me, as it seems to be for columnist Matt Grimley and maybe the rest of the 200 million users. IâÄôll keep my Skype to stay in contact with those who move away. ThereâÄôs something about being able to hear and understand sarcasm in someoneâÄôs voice without requiring them to add a smiley face. And thatâÄôs what it comes down to: reality. The virtual side of reality does not do it for me. I want to feel someoneâÄôs smile as much as I see it, which requires them actually being there, in front of me. If someone has photos of a trip I would hope they bring me the prints so they can tell me about each one and we can laugh together. ItâÄôs a lost art, like this newspaper format. This is life as I want it: the touch and feel of more than a keyboard and mouse. So this explosion of information is dangerous to us as humans. Our hunter and gatherer past has taught us that we did not evolve to be stuck in front of a computer screen; the evolution of modern technology has lasted a hundred years, which is not long enough for humans to evolve into automatons, yet. We need and we owe it to ourselves to âÄúlisten to water-ouzels chirpâÄù and to âÄúadore a sunrise on a frigid day.âÄù Actively touching and influencing peoplesâÄô lives every day, moment-by-moment, slowing down life in the process and genuinely feeling what they offer, activates life as experience. We cannot lose this in our relationships. David Krueger University student