If you'd asked me a few months ago what I think of Zoom, you'd be met with a look of bewilderment. I'd neither used nor heard of the application until two weeks ago, when my departing boss's daughter threw her a virtual retirement "party" that I and several other co-workers were invited to attend. I must say, it quickly grew on me. The coolest feature in my estimation is the ability to change out your background, making it appear as though you're at Walt Disney World, in the Simpsons' living room, or wherever else tickles your fancy. And, this past weekend, I joined the wifey for a Zoom chat with a close friend and colleague of hers. There's no denying that Zoom is all the rage now. With the coronavirus pandemic forcing us to stay indoors, everything from birthday celebrations to corporate budget meetings are being carried out through the service. Surprisingly, though, people have told me that while while these platforms offer convenien...

Chances are, when talking to friends, family, or co-workers via text or IM (or, perhaps even in person), you've used abbreviations for common phrases like "LOL" (short for laughing out loud) and BRB (an acronym for be right back). Now, I asked you where OMG -- short for "Oh my God" originated, what would you say? Perhaps you may point to the internet chatrooms that became popular in the 1990s through services like America Online. If you were born in the 2000s, you might guess it started with texting or email. Actually, you'd have to go back further -- to the first half of the 20th century, that is. Indeed, "OMG" dates back to World War I. The first known use of OMG to abbreviate "oh my God" appears in a letter from Lord John Fisher to Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955: "I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis -- O.M.G. (Oh! My God!)...

. Introverts like me feel like we've been prepared for an event like the coronavirus virtually our entire lives. Under normal circumstances, we consciously seek out solitude in order to clear our minds and recharge our batteries -- especially after dealing with people for hours on end. Now, alone time has been thrust upon us. It's as if social distancing were tailor-made for introverts the world over. While extroverts, who thrive on social interaction, might regard having to stay at home for weeks or months as an unwelcome disruption in their lives, introverts are receiving it with open arms. We thrive on written communication. We relish alone time. We thrill at the opportunity to enjoy solitary pursuits. That's not to suggest we're misanthropes who loathe people and would gladly barricade ourselves in our homes if given the opportunity. We enjoy social interaction -- just in smaller doses, and with fewer people. In fact, introverts are known to become q...

How many letters do you handwrite and mail in a year? If you're like most people, the answer is probably zero. Email, texting, and social media have essentially rendered the practice of writing letters by hand obsolete. Despite their being old school, a person might still write one when they want to add a personal touch that doesn't carry over digitally  -- say, a child writing to his pen pal, a foreign exchange student reaching out to family from the other side of the world, or a hopeless romantic who wishes to spill his guts via pen and paper. Can you guess how many letters Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, wrote in his lifetime? Mind you, there was no Yahoo, Facebook, or Twitter in the 1700s and 1800s. Even the telephone wasn't invented until 1876, and Jefferson died in 1826. That means people in Jefferson's time had to make do with communicating through correspondence. And, evidently, Jefferson was nothing short of a pro. He...

I recently saw a graphic posted on Facebook with the following one-liner: "Sadly, the days of people using proper English are went." I found it cleverly drives home the point that many people have become far too lazy to check their IMs and text messages for punctuation and grammar before sending them off. We all have at least one friend or relative who does this, and maybe we're guilty of it ourselves at times. As a writer/editor/proofreader by trade, my writing is usually impeccable. If I happen to notice a misspelling on my part after the text was sent, I'm quick to write the word correctly with an asterisk next to it, letting the recipient know it was done accidentally. I realize that this is to be expected from someone who writes for a living, and that others may not be such sticklers for grammar and spelling when having casual conversations with friends and family. But I just can't help it when people are too sloppy, peppering the conversation w...

Could you imagine living without a cell phone? I'm sure most of us couldn't, and it would take us a long time to grow accustomed to not carrying one around. Many people use their cell phones even in the bathroom and while at the dinner table. It's becoming an obsession unlike any other I've witnessed. Some of us would even admit to using it while driving, which is an awfully dangerous habit we ought to curb. From texting, emails and social media to watching YouTube videos, taking pictures, listening to music on Pandora, and using GPS, a smartphone is basically a mini-computer in the palm of our hands. One could easily make the case that it's the ultimate boredom buster, whether they're at work, stuck in jury duty, or listening to a dull lecture at school. Some kids are getting cell phones even before they hit their teens! Beyond that, there's no question they've redefined convenience. Buying something on Amazon or eBay at the push of a bu...

...raise your hand. Did you raise it?  I sure did. Between incessant mudslinging, accusations of groping, email controversies, and non-stop coverage of every little thing Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton say and do, I've just about had it. Thankfully, we're less than two weeks away from the end of it all. This is an election year unlike any we've seen before. It has felt more like reality television than anything else, and I think we can all agree that Donald Trump has had a lot to do with that. Still, most people find neither candidate likable or trustworthy. It seems their aim is merely to vote for the person they hate the least -- the lesser of two evils, if you will. I want to go back to the time where I could tune into CNN or Fox News and see at least a few stories peppered in about the economy, a breakthrough innovation, or something significant happening around the world. I suppose Trump and Hillary bring in the ratings, and that's why they get so...

There are certainly many perks to using our smart phones. How convenient is it to be able to check the weather, our email, or our home (remotely via our home security app) through these small yet highly sophisticated devices while on the go? However, cell phone use has infiltrated our lives in a way most of the phone manufacturers probably never imagined. We take the phones with us to the bathroom, use them while eating dinner and conversing with people and -- worst of all -- while driving. Cell phones have made our lives easier in myriad ways while making society far more impersonal. These days, wishing people a Happy Birthday via Facebook has supplanted the more traditional methods of calling by phone or sending someone a card in the mail. But when phones become so intrusive as to disrupt family time, that's when you know we've taken our usage of them to a whole new level. My wife often uses her while we're watching movies in the living room, resulting in my admon...

I know several people who are currently in a long distance relationship, including my co-worker Betty. While she admits that it has its challenges, she and her boyfriend are finding ways to make it work. The toughest part of a long distance relationship is the lack of physical closeness. Everyone wants to cuddle with their significant other while watching a movie, for example. It's nice to have someone to accompany you to dinners and social functions. Not being able to grab the person's hand and exchange hugs and kisses with them -- especially during life's most trying moments -- can be depressing. Thankfully, it's easier than ever these days to keep in touch. While phone, Facebook, texting, email, and FaceTime are no substitute for being with someone in person, they let both people stay connected until they can plan their next meeting. In order for a long distance relationship to work, both people need to put in their fair share -- no ifs or buts about it. That...

We can all say that our friendships have evolved considerably with the passage of time. Gone seem the days when you and your buddies could plan an outing at the bar or mall at a moment's notice. While we can partly attribute the changes to shifting responsibilities like work and children, there's yet another factor to take into account: technology. Technology is truly a double-edged sword. While it has made it easier to keep in touch with friends (via email, text, social media, etc), that very convenience has made such friendships much more impersonal. We're now living in an age where it's acceptable to wish someone a Happy Birthday via text or congratulate him on Facebook for his promotion. But we mustn't forget that just a few decades ago, we didn't have all this technology at our disposal, leaving us with only three alternatives: phone, letters, or meeting up in person. Again, while I can certainly see the pluses to digital communication, I think some...

Few things have revolutionized the world in the 20th and 21st centuries like the internet has. As consumers, we depend on the internet for everything from buying groceries to making doctor's appointments. Have you ever imagined what life without the internet would be like? If the internet weren't around, We would not be able to buy gifts, groceries and other consumer goods on sites like Amazon and arrange to have them delivered in a day or two There would be no online banking, necessitating a trip or call to the bank every so often Many of us would not be in relationships or married since a good percentage of us first met our partner online We wouldn't be able to communicate with friends and family members via email, blogs, Facebook or other social media Companies would not be able to sell their products online - (can you imagine how much lower their profits would be?) There would be no iTunes or YouTube There would be little to do via our mobile devices other ...

As the world becomes more and more technologically advanced, it seems many people have only become lazier. A self-admitted history nerd, I always wonder what people did in, say, the 1800s for leisure and entertainment. It seems they made a pastime of reading books and writing letters to each other, among other activities. In this age of social media, texting, and email, how many people nowadays still write letters to each other by hand? Whereas I am a voracious reader, most of my friends wouldn't be caught dead with a book in hand. Instead, they seem to be glued to their trusty TVs, Netflix and Amazon Prime being all the rage these days. Writing letters and reading books are, in most people's minds, the kinds of activities you have to seek out and feel inspired to do -- which at the end of the day can use up more of their mental resources (or so they feel). On the other hand, TV programming comes at you -- you need not do much other than grab the remote control and su...