Twitter Jaiku Pownce Facebook- And Then What?

I admit it...I found the title to this blog on a "blog topics" blog :) and had no idea what it meant - except the facebook part. So, I had to go look all of it up. Boy, do I feel old and out of touch. I like to consider myself someone who is interested in and fascinated by technology, but the electronic times have changed quickly.

I knew about Facebook. Though it's been around for awhile, I recently took the plunge and joined in and have been having a blast connecting with both old and new friends. Feeling behind on my writing skills, I thought it would be fun to start this blog. But, that's about where my electronic connections end.

I know there are people who still don't "do" email (I just can't get that), so I'm a bit ahead of the curve for my age, but I have to wonder, will my kids connect with their friends strictly through the web? How many different types of social networking sites will exist for them and how will they find time to keep up with all of them? Will they constantly have their noses in their laptops or their phones?

From an interpersonal communication standpoint, how will the changing evolution of online communication affect their social lives and the way they learn to deal with people? When I was a teenager, I spent hours on the phone with my girlfriends - and the occasional patient boyfriend who would tolerate my endless jabbering. Do teenagers still do that, or are they too busy updating their status and uploading photoshopped pictures of themselves? If they are still talking to each other, what about my kids? Will they still talk, or will it all move online? Will I have to post on facebook: "Karla is thinking it's time for everyone to come to dinner" in order to get them to a meal on time? It will be interesting to see how these sites affect my kids and whether I can stay a step ahead of them - or at least keep up. I hope to be able to guide them to talk with each other as real people - not onine personas.

Hmmmm... I'm sensing some great PhD fodder here... maybe it's time to go back to school! : )