I started having problems with technology this last Christmas, or maybe it was a year ago, when I was told I needed to put my wish list on the “family Web site.” I boycotted said site, passionately. It’s not that I prefer the crayon-to-construction paper method of writing down my hopes and dreams for what pops under the tree, it’s just that try as I might, I refuse to see my family as a small business. Though we have enough members to qualify, some magic is lost while waiting for Santa’s site to load.

I’m not saying technology is a bad thing, now. I can be found hiking to class to some soothing serenade on my iPod touch, probably trying not to trip while texting my BFF Jill on my pink Motorola Razr. Mind you, I can leave my apartment without my notebook and be OK, but I break into hives without that phone. After class I’ll hop online and catch up on IM while Facebooking to my heart’s content, and Facebooking may not be a verb or even a word, but who hasn’t said it at least once? What I am saying is that maybe, just maybe, there are still some things that should remain the same. Radical, I know.

For one, I can recall a time when I was asked out via e-mail. Not just out on a date, but like “do you want to be in a relationship” sort of thing. No, I was not subscribing to eHarmony. As convincing as those commercials are, you cannot tell me they are not actors. No one in their right mind would brag about the love of their life that they knew was right for them because they both used Comic Sans size 14 font in their profile. Point is, at the time it was almost cute. Like, “Aw, he’s really shy.” In retrospect, not so cute. Actually, kind of creepy … and lame.

I know what you’re thinking. That’s common sense; no one in their right mind would do that. Well apparently not, folks. I hear stories all the time (or read them in Cosmo) about people breaking up with each other through e-mail/text/Post-it note. OK, that last one was a Sex and the City episode. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Think about it: How many people get in fights over an IM or text that was not meant to sound bad, but it was taken the wrong way? Trust me, guys … there aren’t enough emoticons in the world to fix a ticked-off girlfriend after a typo changed your entire sentence. Best to do that one in person, with a puppy in hand. If you don’t have a puppy, borrow one. Unless she’s allergic to dogs, because then you would find yourself very, very single.

Puppies aside, there are some things that really do need to be said in person, or at least by phone. Apologies mean more when you’re not hiding behind a Facebook message, and handwritten thank-you cards say a lot more about you than the fact that you really appreciated the opportunities and experience the internship gave you (feel free to use that little phrase verbatim).

We live in a fast-paced world where a kid can fall behind fast if he or she doesn’t keep up with the newest in technology and tabloids. Sometimes, though, taking the time to take care of business the old-fashioned way can give you that extra ‘umph’ in someone’s eye — and you may need that someone some day.

Chenee Castruita is a junior journalism major. Send her an e-mail at cc282705@ohiou.edu.