The leaps in innovation and technology have been numerous and astounding ever since The Stone Age. New inventions such as the wheel and the smartphone have revolutionized the way we perceive and interact with the world. New technologies will continue to change the way the world works; however, what are we willing to risk for the promise of innovation? Human relations. Despite being more virtually linked than any generation prior, the human race has never been more disconnected to each other.

The concept of social media: Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, all famous forms of communication that supposedly have the ability to bring human beings together; however, what is the world actually doing when a post or tweet explodes with likes and reblogs? Yes, in today’s day and age the world is fully capable of spreading information and communicating with other people at the touch of a button, but are we actually connecting? By the dictionary; connecting is the act of establishing communication between or to put in communication, and by its definition, social media is capable of connecting other people together. But even though this is true, this form of connection is not nearly as strong as it was twenty years ago. Twenty years ago, your best friend lived down the street and you knew every tiny detail about their life, how they would act, how they would think, how they would talk, everything. Today, your best friend may live 100 miles away from you and you know every detail about the life they post online, who all of their friends are, and where they live. The difference in the two generations is evident; while one generation develops relations personally through interaction, the modern generation develops theirs over technology.

Our entire world is being consumed by technology and we are beginning to depend on it more and more everyday. From daily household chores to rocket launches, technology is shaping our world. However, are we going to let it shape the way we interact and form relations?