*Makes a Penguin Emoticon*

It's hard to analyze a situation without being removed from it by time or distance, which is why we're particularly impressed with Sparkler imperfectbutfine. In this great post, imperfectbutfine points out facets of today's digital culture that few of us stop to think about. —SparkNotes editors

The way we communicate changes all the time. Don't believe me? Here's a list of recent changes in our digital culture that affect what we say and how we say it:

• Text language is growing so fast I can't keep up. For example, I had to Google “stfu” because so many of my friends were using it, and I had no idea what it meant.
• Emoticons are becoming more complicated. I mean, my sister can make a crazy penguin out of a bunch of key strokes, (but the best I can do is “:p”).
• Computers are getting faster (although it always seems that MY computer is the slowest one on the planet. How much faster are people with new, fast, top-of-the-line computers receiving information?).
• The "*" craze. Asterisks are now meant to indicate an action, like this: *punches Carly in the face*. I'm not a fan. *sighs*
• Wikipedia is being banned from more and more "acceptable sources" lists at school. This is really inconvenient, because the first search result for something like “The American Civil War” on Google is a Wikipedia article.
• People’s parents are beginning to appear on Facebook and MySpace. Be careful what you post…
• New and improved features on Facebook and other social networking sites make it easier to wind up goofing off on the computer when you’re supposed to be doing homework or studying. You have an essay to write, you go to look up some sources, and the next thing you know you’re on MySpace or Facebook chatting with friends. Whoops.
• Despite the advent of zillions of new fonts, Times New Roman remains the standard font for anything school-related. The disparity between school font and non-school font (AKA anything not Times New Roman) makes Times New Roman seem scary and evil.

What have you been noticing about communication in the digital age?

Related Post: Most Annoying Types of Text Messages

Wanna write for SparkLife? Send your submission and nickname to contribute@sparknotes.com for consideration.