Maybe it’s not such a bad thing when our phones get low batteries, maybe that means we are one bar closer to reality.

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It’s crazy how a touchscreen can make us lose touch with real life — All the iPhones, iPads and iMacs.

So many “i’s” and “selfies.”

Have we forgotten about the “us’” and the “we”?

How often are we FaceTiming instead of talking face-to-face? Are we actually losing touch with each other?

We are living in a new era of advanced communication technology and I have a feeling we may be getting away from the “in person” form of human interaction.

Back before communication technology existed, people interacted face to face. They walked to each other’s houses and knocked on the front door.

Where have those times gone?

They have progressed into the time that we all live in now, a time where we text each other from across the room, look into a phone to hear people and scroll through people’s timelines to find out more about them.

Pewinternet.org shows 46 percent of social media users post original videos and photos of themselves.

The survey also states that 41 percent of social media users repost other people’s posts and that is how people find out what is going on in people’s lives — not finding out about it in person, not talking face-to-face with someone.

According to Pewinternet.org, 74 percent of all Internet users are on social media. Nearly half of them are sharing their lives online and there is a good chance that will be the only way people will find out or see what is going on in a person’s life.

I admit, I am one of those people who spends a lot of time on my phone. Honestly, I use my phone for everything.

I am able to get so much done, day-to-day, through social media. I can set up meetings, manage my personal schedule, give and receive information that is critical to the things I have going on with school and homework and have fast access to the Internet at any time.

Now, the thing I need to constantly remind myself of is to make sure I am living my life outside of my social media sites and to talk to the people around me.

Use social media to be successful, not to live your life.

Getting sucked into the world of social media can take away from personal interactions you face and could hinder the amount of life experiences there are to take advantage of.

There are those who feel the same.

“I choose to stay away from social media for the exact reason you are writing this piece. I do not want to lose touch with the people I come in contact with throughout my day,” said Sam Mauer, a Missouri Baptist University student. “I would rather have a good laugh with someone I see than having a good laugh, alone, on my phone.”

Do not lose sight of true human interaction. It is so important to surround yourself with real people, not pictures of people on your phone.

Maybe it’s not such a bad thing when our phones get low batteries, maybe that means we are one bar closer to reality.

By David Long

David Long is a staff journalist for MBU Timeline. He is a junior who is majoring in General Communications Studies. Long is the captain of the MBU Mens Golf Team and has been a member of it for 3 years. Born and raised in Goshen, Ind., Long now lives just south of Asheville in Rutherford County, N.C.. He plans on pursuing a career as a golf professional after he graduates. Long will be the president and founder of Phi Lambda Phi, the first men's fraternity at MBU.