I write letters. I write letters for the same reason I regard birthday texts with a sense of defeat, or why I smile at passerby when I’m walking down the street. Rarely do I get responses, as nowadays humans are not programmed to interact with one another, but every so often I receive a smile or a “hello” in return.

I was born into a generation of “screenbearers," a world where the masses pray to the internet, where technology not only informs but creates culture. Attention spans have diminished to six-second videos and day-long fads. Viral is the new as well as the immediately disposable. Memes are oftentimes used as manifestations, or substitutions of one’s emotional spectrum. The inklings of the dystopian society prophesied by Gibson and Gernsback have already emerged, but we can't look past our iPhones to observe them.

Now, with improved technology comes an unparalleled efficiency which mustn’t be overlooked. Social media outlets like Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook allow for friends miles apart to keep daily tabs on each other’s lives. Applications like Skype and FaceTime allow friends, family, coworkers and couples to connect face to face instantaneously. One can send emails and text messages en masse within seconds, a fact convenient to peers and imperative to a newly engendered punctuality which screams “I want it now.” Within my lifetime all newspapers will go out of print; all books replaced by Kindles; the postal service will essentially be rendered obsolete. I know that this will save paper and be environmentally friendly, and I’m all for conservation; but with the depletion of material goods comes mechanized replacement, efficient yet insentient. Humans will learn to live alongside machines, and herein lies the conundrum.

I fear for our diminishing sense of compassion. It is worrisome that social gatherings seldom involve social activity; it is worrisome that documenting an event for the purpose of posting it on social media outlets has become more important than experiencing said event. I am not above this lifestyle, I engage in that which I condemn. But I can’t be the only one who cringes at the sight of thousands of phones at concerts, or the endless stream of Instagrammed food. Everyday life has seemingly become an archive of our succinct digital musings, constant proof that we are happy, we are interesting, we are alive. But at what cost? Kids my age, myself included, have trouble holding conversations for longer than five minutes. Our words are frequently misspelled because auto-correct is and always will be in effect, which sounds convenient but gives rise to laziness. We pitch our support electronically, sending intangible ‘likes’ or ‘hearts’ to our friends in hopes of maintaining a tangible relationship. Protests nowadays are held online and amount to little palpable change.

So I write letters, because I believe in the antiquity of humanity. I see human decency and dialogue as a candle soon to be snuffed out. I admit that technology is an ineffaceable pillar of current and future generations. This call to action will be received electronically rather than orally, because messages are more easily transmittable in the former. As our society evolves, and we spiral toward new means of communication and self-expression, we shouldn’t forget the humaneness which so easily evades our interactions. As Einstein concisely stated, “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” Though we may have already crossed the threshold, there is such danger in confusing the two.