“@mynewboss, I wud luv to meet u 4 a 2nd interview. 12 on Mon works perf 4 me. C u then. #soexcited.”

Over the top? Sure.

Possible? Yes.

As impervious to social media jargon as we might be, those of us in our 20s and teens are often replacing fundamental language and communication skills with hash tags and acronyms in real life situations. It isn’t just what we are posting on social media sites that may be harming us, growing up on social networking is hindering the refined communication skills it takes to relate to people the “old-fashioned way”: in person.

Though some may be ignorant to the toll social media is taking on personal interaction and communication skills, in an upcoming research book on human interaction with technology, Stanford communications professor Clifford Nass has discovered, “our brains can't fundamentally distinguish between interacting with people and interacting with devices.” As technology becomes more reliable and interactive, Nass states we go so far as to behave as if our devices have emotions. Human interaction is not obsolete (yet), but parents across the country can attest to children guilty of poor grammar, verbiage and anti-socialism, a quality your online friends and followers on social media are inept to criticize.

As we become more technologically inclined, we are losing the ability to behave not only verbally but also non-verbally in social settings. Because we are often hidden behind a screen where our recipient cannot see us, when we interact in person, we don’t pay attention to our “postures, movements and gestures that can tell one story while [our] voice may be telling another,” comments Allan Pease in his research novel, Body Language: How to Read Others’ Thoughts by Their Gestures. Reaffirming the need to venture out from behind the screen, Pease concludes “there is a direct relationship between the amount of status, power or prestige a person commands and that person’s range of vocabulary.” What we are relying most on, is failing us more than we know.

If you're still tweeting and chatting online about the demise of your real-life social skills, Pease believes it's not too late. He suggests observing how others socially interact at least 15 minutes a day. As for language, don’t turn to the dictionary to help you – Oxford English Dictionary recently added ‘OMG’, ‘LOL’, ‘Twittersphere’, ‘Bestie’, etc. to their accredited resource. To prepare for the big interview or new job, get out from behind your computer, phone, iPad, etc. and start socializing with professionals you know (parents, family, neighbors…), or introduce yourself to strangers who can give you feedback on your first impression. As crazy as it sounds, this archaic concept of meeting and talking with strangers has been working for centuries BBSM. (Before the Birth of Social Media).