Ever since Facebook became popular, we have added every single person we are, or at one time were, friends with. Does that strike anyone else as weird? We will grow up never losing touch with anyone we have deemed worthy enough to click the “add as friend?” button. I’m left wondering how will this change the way we conduct ourselves as adults.

This issue’s center spread is dedicated to technology, something people our age are drenched in. Our lives are controlled by technology in almost every aspect. I’m typing this article on a computer, something that still bewilders some of our parents. I will get up tomorrow morning and drive to school in a car with more gadgets and gizmos built into it than I will ever understand and I will check my iPhone about 200 times between now and then. I’m addicted to technology.

With the recent passing of Steve Jobs, someone who was known as the innovator of lots of technology, I sit thinking about how technology plays a role in my life. While I have no doubt that technology and new ideas are essential to the growth of society, it still doesn’t sit well. I wonder if I will only communicate with people via Skype, or if kids will play outside or play virtually “outside” on their Xbox5000? I also want to know how long it will take all of technology mentioned in this piece to become irrelevant and outdated.

Every once in a while I wish I lived in an earlier time. Where if someone wanted to talk to you they had to call the land line and have good manners with your parents. Or when people wrote invitations, letters and cared about their penmanship. There was a time when relationships weren’t mindless texting conversations, but quality time with one another. To me, there is something very special about having the ability to be able to function without technology. Now it’s unique to have enough social skills to speak to someone in person and not hide behind a computer or a cell phone.

I look forward to the future for many reasons. I hope that with technology we cure diseases, grow as a society and make more cool iPhones, but I also hope we learn to use it responsibly . I’m tired of seeing every emotion a person has, poured onto a status update. Or hearing about another person caught sending inappropriate pictures of themselves on phones. For our generation to master technology, we must use it with moderation and common sense.