Even though summer is coming to an end, it's still a great time to go outside and enjoy the breeze. Fall may be around the corner, but that doesn't mean that you can't hang out on your deck or patio to enjoy the warm sun and watch as the leaves begin to change. Now is as good as any time in summer to soak up the sun. That being said, would you believe that there are a lot of people who chose to stay mostly indoors this summer? And it wasn't because of the heat.

Today, more and more Americans seem to be content with staring at a T.V. screen to watch the game or burn the retinas out of their eye sockets while playing video games. And I'm sure you can take a guess as to why that is.

With the advancement of modern day technology came many new and miraculous devises. We went from having bulky television sets within our living rooms to having flat screen T.V.s in almost every bedroom. Technology has even made it that much easier for us to connect with one another. Corded telephones became almost obsolete with the invention of the cell phone, which further advanced into what we now call smartphones. Even the social media has taken drastic steps forward along with the evolution of our ever changing technology. A little over a decade ago, we were all using computers to instant message each other and send emails. While we all still use computers within our everyday lives, much of what we use them for can now be accomplished though devices that are nearly as small as a computer mouse. Texting, email, chatting with a friend, managing school and a career, even dating can all be done from the comfort of our homes or even while we're just walking down the street.

But whatever happened to sitting outside on the patio and simply enjoying the brisk air or chatting with a next door neighbor? Combine the ease of access that the social media provides with all the indoor entertainment that we've developed over the years and you'll find that many people, especially this new digitally inclined generation, have lost touch with some important social skills. Kids and teens today will more likely text you a greeting rather than simply look you in the eyes and say hello. So with the development of computers, Playstations, flat screen T.V.s, and smartphones that could connect us to just about any part of the world, are we as a society coming closer together? Or are we losing valuable social skills because we're not getting outside enough to simply get a breath of fresh air?

Turn back the clock to about fifty years ago and imagine how people lived. They may not have been walking over to their neighbor’s house for a cup of sugar or leisurely enjoying cocktails at their fancy outdoor dining sets as often as some shows like to portray, but they were certainly talking to each other a lot more often. And it wasn’t just the occasional passing “Hello, how are you doing?” People actually had full-length conversations. Now compare that to how we are today and what do you see?

A lot of people with their heads glued to a tiny screens, silently tapping away as they engage in their virtual discussions that sometimes take hours when they could have easily gotten their point across in minutes.