Where is everyone? is an appropriate question these days. Here it is summer; trees in full bloom, flowers everywhere, and all is as it should be in our town. But where are the younger people; the children and their bicycles, scooters, the occasional lemonade stand are nowhere to be seen.
The older ever dependable folk are at the band concerts at the park, thank heavens. If it weren't for them, the town would look like a ghost town.
But the basements and family rooms are busy places, out of sight of everyone. "Social networking" is going on. Hands are on keyboards, conversing and exchanging information. No need to mingle like they did in the "old days." No need to "talk;" no need for vocal expressions of emotions, such as "oh really?" It's almost as if the human element has disappeared.
Parents will have to have talk sessions, where the human voice is used, to be sure it doesn't atrophy. Hello and goodbye could be expressions of the past.
Can we assume that they are being informed of current events? Are they learning that 2+2=4? How different from the 50s when if you needed a job, you answered an ad and could be hired "on the spot" without hours spent "online."
Thank heavens for large gatherings like the Fourth of July or graduations. Young people are visible, unhooked, for a short time. Did we ever think that we could be losing our communication skills in this age of "mass communication."