It's something that has been accumulating for as long as technology has been developing.

Online human interaction.

At first being something that was warned against, now transforming into a commonality among the new generations, a fact much resented by the older ones.

So, where did that all begin?

Many believe that the source of this resentment is how heavily discouraged talking to people on the internet was in the early 2000's.

Internet predators- a very real thing on the internet. But something that today- is easier avoided.

You have to think about how the baby boomers and their kids, generation X were living through their adulthood while the internet and it's new and unknown dangerous, were coming to fruition. It is natural for them to still harbour some resentment and ill feelings to now their children, the generation Y millennials and generation z, to reach their later teen years/early twenties and teen years with technology always being at the touch of their fingertips. But these generations aren't the ones who were trying to learn how to understand the internet and how to keep themselves safe. We're the ones who grew up with the internet and safety on there, being as natural as safety in real life.

These ages are critical for human interaction and development so it is a natural progression that all of these people who have forever had the World Wide Web, are making friends- online.

Let you parents parent you. Of course, they're wary, they'd be nervous about you going out to hang with anyone. Your parents can't use the 'let me talk to their mother first' line anymore, it's natural they're a little bit less understanding. But never for one second believe that just because you met your best friend for life through a video game or a blog, that makes them less 'real'. What generation was it that wrote all those sappy love letters? What's the difference between letters and texts or IMs? (besides efficiency) Some of my best friends and people who actually know me, I've met on through the internet. My parents know this, they get it, maybe not the biggest fans of it but they know.

They're not my 'internet' friends. They're my friends. *Real* relationships that have been cultivated, allowed to grow. Real people who have helped me when I was down, been there for me when nobody else seemed like they would be. Real people who I love and have no issues threatening to buy a plane ticket to come over and kick their asses when they're being annoying.

"So how is it that someone so far away can make such a big impact, and those closest to us can disregard them? Just because someone is pixels on a screen doesn't mean they can't touch you, doesn't mean they can't understand or console or even love you. Perhaps because it is new, those who's only friends are those they happened to live near, those who never had the chance to reach out to 7 billion people and find those you truly connect with, don't understand just what a person 4700 miles away can do to you, but it is real, as real as anything else." -Jack (a very real person of mine)

Of course predators still exist and everything is good in moderation, blah blah blah, etc. But hey. In this fast paced ever-moving world, laying in bed on skype playing games with your friends sounds a lot better to me than going out to bars to try and meet people. In that scenario, which one is riskier now?

There are 7.5 billion people in this world. Of course, the people you get along with the best, don't live in your town. That'd be statistically...

insane.

Ellie's Ratings:

Internet safety: 10/10

Sap: 10/10

Internet predator-ness: 0/10 (I'm nice I promise)

I love my people, the ones who I hug every day and the ones who I send probably way too many kissing/hug emojis to.