Most American high schools students, and all Uni students, use the Internet to communicate with others. Whether it be e-mail, IM, MySpace, or Facebook, communication through the Internet is completely familiar for us.

But indirect communication doesn’t stop at the computer, for there are all sorts of cell phone phenomena that allow us to talk with each other without speaking out loud.

Of course, our generation has been nagged and criticized by our elders for our detachment from the “real world.” Our fingers are always flittering across the keys on our phone, sending out text messages at all hours of the day. Most of us can hardly focus on our homework without having an IM window or two up, hardly go through a day without checking our social networking system addiction of choice.

We are all targeted by the creators of many an addictive technology, but sometimes this targeting can be dangerous because, if successful, the addictions can interfere with our mental and physical health.

There is even a Center for Internet Addiction Recovery, which offers an online test that claims to accurately determine whether or not you are a computer addict.

With the Internet boom, “addiction” has taken new forms. While some psychologists are hesitant to use the word “addiction,” they believe that the Internet can worsen already existing problems, offering what may seem to be an emotional outlet, but which can really be a trap.

The Internet is certainly paradoxical, for it yields prodigious connectivity between individuals, yet at the same time it is socially isolating. At this point, we all begin to redefine what socialization means to us.

The sentence “I was talking to so-and-so the other day” can as easily refer to direct, verbal communication as it can to indirect, electronic communication. For the first time in history, communication delivered in a matter of minutes or seconds can be reorganized, thought out, manipulated, and modified as many times as a person wishes. Yet this communication is still considered candid and casual, unlike the also preconceived nature of the written letter, which can seem like a quaint antiquity.

Socially, electronic communication can result in widescale issues and minor misunderstandings. Certainly there has been a rise in cyber bullying, where students who might not necessary bully others in a school setting feel shielded by the false sense of anonymity and privacy that the Internet can give, resulting in their electronic bullying of other students.

This form of bullying can be pernicious, for the bullies can gain support from fellow students, also feeling that their Internet actions are more private and anonymous than they really are, who encourage the vicious behavior, sometimes just out of sheer amusement.

Another, less serious issue is that of misunderstandings. In the case of instant messaging, where intonation cannot be heard, “Guess that Emotion!” and “Guess that Level of Sincerity!” become routine. Insecurities arise as an individual might later overanalyze an emotionally volatile statement, leading to unhealthy and unnecessary worrying and doubt.

Luckily, the issue of Internet obsession hasn’t gone unnoticed. Society is encouraged to break from the computer and pursue nonelectronic forms of fun such as Shutdown Day, a campaign that encourages “gadget addicts” to shut off their computers for an entire day, helping them to “organize themselves to contribute to the better of society on that particular day.”

Still, it is up to the computer users themselves to battle the ever-growing temptation of new technology and make sure they stay connected at healthy levels with the world of physical interaction and verbal communication.