Facebook vs Face to Face

Facebook is and can be a very fun way to keep up with people. Sharing photos across the world in an instant is a wonderful tool. Having someone comment on one of your posts can make you feel like somebody cares or is listening. However, many studies have been done recently about how we connect with people and how it affects our feelings and moods. Despite all the technology at our fingertips, it has been been proven over and over that about half the brain's cerebral vortex, where social cues are processed, is devoted to visual input. In simple terms, that means that reading an email or text from someone is not nearly as powerful as spending time with them interacting face to face. I guess technology keeps us in touch without really touching.
How many times have you received a text and thought it meant something totally different than the sender intended? We need to see some one's face, hear their voice inflection and be able to react to the whole person, not just written words on a page or phone.
I have done my best to keep up with technology and how it helps our lives, but it will never replace good old-fashioned "meet for coffee" friends. I will continue to make the effort to interact with many, stay in touch with a few and bare my soul - in person - to one or two. I hope this generation of parents teaches their children that nothing beats face-to-face friends who make us feel valued and loved. Their happiness as adults depends upon it.