In our generation today, there are many new ways of communicating with one another. Texting and social networking websites such as twitter and facebook are a very popular and common example among most people, including you and me. It’s wonderful to be able to communicate with someone at the touch of a button. However, have we abused this feature to the point that it affects the way we think? Have we gotten so wrapped up in technology that we have forgot what is really important in the world, and what is happening right in front of us? New social media is a great thing, but perhaps everyone needs to learn how to control their usage, and still be conscious of what is going on in the world around them. It has been said that social media is changing the way we think, people no longer can devote their attention to one task without some sort of multi tasking. As said by author Katherine Hayles, there is a difference between deep attention and hyper attention. Not too many people can master deep attention because it is quite difficult to focus on one task for a long period of time with no distractions. That is why it is most common in people today to have hyper attention, meaning that while completing one task, you are also doing many other things at once. I can agree that I find myself trying to sit down and do homework, but then I always end up on my phone, or on the internet, and to actually get finished what was intended may take a while because I find it hard to focus on one thing. Hayles also suggests that people who multi task prefer a high level of stimulation, and stimulation is related to ADD/ADHD. She states many people feel that they need to take unprescribed drugs to do good on a test, or for writing papers. This is true, I have heard of many kids around my age say that they take aderol in order to focus and study. I don’t agree that this is right at all, most people just don’t want to do their work because they are lazy, but taking a pill isn’t the right answer to stay focused. If someone really wanted to improve them self in how they work they would find ways of keeping all possible distractions away and go in a quiet room where they can focus. Not only has new social media changed our focusing patterns, but it definitely has made a strong impact on the way we communicate. I feel now people are more socially awkward than ever before! People are always on their phones, sometimes I find myself hanging out with friends and no one is even talking because they are all on their phones. Author Alison Gopnik, talks about a fictional story about a girl who grows up with “The Device” and is so connected to it and brings it with her everywhere she goes. This gives a good mental picture for how most people act with their cell phones today, I include myself when I say this, but I would literally be lost without my phone. It’s a feeling of being attached to everyone and knowing what is going on with people, I find myself not being able to go long periods of time without checking my phone. This can probably relate to a lot of people in our generation. It seems that people don’t know how to carry a normal conversation face to face because we are so comfortable with always communicating online. This is an issue because what do you do when you’re not behind a keyboard or have your phone and have to deal with real life situations? It is important to still have a sense of how to act in reality, rather than virtuality. Turkle, describes how when people come together at a train station for example, no one is there to communicate, it’s as if everyone is completely alone because they block each other out. When I am walking through the halls of College of Dupage, I have felt this same feeling of being marked absent. I could pass someone I have known for years and years but we act as if we have no idea who each other are, not even giving a friendly smile. That’s just the way people act these days, no one is