It has been argued that the strength of a society is based on the social rules it embraces. These rules, while sometimes simple and easily identifiable, can at other times be complicated by presupposed unwritten conditions that strong social communities rely on as a principle governing conduct. This conduct can be exemplified in the way its citizens communicate ideas, interact with each other, accept personal responsibility for their actions, and participate in the community as a whole. Social media's lack of face-to-face contact is leading to the collapse of these social rules and consequently the decline of social skills in America today. Over the past twenty-five years, technological advances combined with the unbridled growth of social media have radically changed not only the methods used to communicate but also linguistics. The dramatic increase in the use of new media sources has led to the creation of a type of shorthand English. With today's social media, abbreviations like LOL, OMG, BRB and ROFL are easily recognized by his followers, but remain a mystery to the unconnected. Younger generations' preference for social media such as texting, Twitter and Facebook over face-to-face communication has not only had an effect on communication skills, but has also led to a further disconnect with the adult population. Twenty years ago, when a family went out to dinner it was considered a family moment; an opportunity for all family members to get involved in what was happening in each other's lives. Today, looking at that same family outing, you're much more likely to see each of them sitting at the same table, looking at a smartphone texting, and with very little, if any... paper... ...on the list. It has been said that it is not necessarily what you say and especially how you say it, but how the person you are speaking to feels it. The need to adequately express oneself is drastically reduced when the comments made concern a person a thousand miles away. This disconnect provides a false sense of security, and the harmful consequences could be felt for an entire generation. With teens spending more and more time on online social media, the safety net of non-face-to-face communication is already having negative effects. “Teens show 'decreased risk-taking' compared to previous generations when it comes to expressing themselves and interacting with other people,” says Katie Davis (Clemmitt 5). How can we expect our society to survive if an entire generation loses the ability or desire to communicate openly and face-to-face??