No phones at the dinner table.

That's a rule at my house. Or was. For a while.

I'm not sure exactly when it disappeared. When I first got my phone, I was more excited than I had ever been in my thirteen year old life. I could finally call my friends on my own phone, and more importantly, I could text. Luckily, for my parents who were paying my phone bill, we had unlimited texting. 'Cause boy, did I send a lot of text messages.

And I still do. Nothing about that has changed. But I really don't get that many phone calls anymore. I get some from my work, on my birthday I'll get a few from relatives, and when a friend needs to get ahold of me right away and I'm not texting back fast enough, they'll call me then. And don't even mention the days when we had to plan our next gettogether when we actually saw each other. Sure it happens, but most of the details are decided through digital communication, like Facebook or texting.

It's not a bad thing. We have so many new ways to communicate. Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, and Instagram are now ways that you can keep up on someone's life, without even ever talking to them in any way. Some people might even consider most of what people do digital stalking.

But really, all are great forms of communication. Since so many people are constantly on these social media sites, it's practically impossible to not be able to get in touch with someone, especially when you add in cell phones.

My only disappointment is the loss of "personal-ness" this new age of technology has brought. I miss getting phone calls from friends, asking to hang out. I miss having to arrange a time so that we could just talk. It's become almost difficult to become friends with someone just by talking to them. It's so easy to forget basic social skills. Mostly, I miss getting letters.

In my elementary days, I signed up to get a pen pal through a magazine I got. I was extremely excited and sent out a letter to my pen pal, a girl in California named Olivia, if I remember correctly. It was always the best feeling ever, getting a letter from her. She would tell me about her life, and I would tell her about mine. We would send each other pictures we drew in art class and once, she even sent me a bead bracelet that I still have now. It was really fun. And now, we hardly have that option. Even if you do get a pen pal, you can look them up on Facebook, and before you know it, you'll be chatting through email and instant messaging on social media sites.

So while social media sites and texting keep us more connected than ever, it makes relationships less personal and makes us, in general more awkward people, less likely to strike up conversations with strangers or acquaintances. Is social media fun? Yes. Is it good for relationships? The jury's still out on that one.