Technology can be a great thing. It lets us communicate with friends half way across the world or in the room next door. It has provided endless sources of information and entertainment. However, technology is also shaping the way we function and use our brains. We are becoming addicted to our phones and losing our uniqueness. Here are some problems with technology that we may not realize are occurring:

1. We aren't using proper grammar.

All we see on social media is "omg," "bae," and "lmao." We have no need to use proper English anymore. Words like "hangry" and "awesomesauce" are now in the dictionary. Few Facebook posts are made with complete sentences. Slang terms and acronyms replace real words. Autocorrect fixes every spelling error so we don't even need to learn to spell correctly. Who needs English when you have text-talk, right?

2. We have shorter attention spans.

Everything in our world is increasingly fast paced, including our attention spans. Anything longer than a seven-second Vine or a one sentence tweet is too long. We don't read long articles unless there are bullet points. We don't watch the news, only the highlights. We struggle to work without checking our phones. We might actually die if we don't check Instagram every hour. We have the mind of a goldfish now.

3. We aren't spending quality time with each other.

We are too distracted to give each other attention. Hanging out becomes sitting in the same room while on our phones. When having fun with our friends, we have to tweet, Snapchat, and Instagram our every activity. Our sleepovers are filled with making Vines, watching Vines, favoriting Vines, sharing Vines, and no one seems to notice that no one is talking. We are too absorbed in technology that we forget who is in front of us.

4. We are limiting our thoughts.

We compose our thoughts in 140 characters or less. We try to use the shortest words and shortest sentences possible. We don't bother to express our opinions or read anyone else's so we stop forming them. We are forgetting how to think for ourselves and produce our own profound thoughts.

5. We are forgetting to live in the moment.

We have to update our social media whenever we do anything. We have to take 100 pictures of every event or view or moment we have. Our cell phones are part of every memory we make. We don't take the time to appreciate what is around us and the opportunities we get. We don't do things for the experience, we do them to get likes on our Instagram post. We need to remember how to enjoy ourselves and live in the moment, not in our phones. We need to start looking up, not looking down.