People can’t seem to put their phones away.

A majority of students are always facing downward at a small lit screen. Most conversations take place via text messages or social media nowadays, which is probably the reason why people are growing up without social skills.

Social media is the reason why so many of us deal with matters of miscommunication.

Often, people will form biased opinions without knowing all sides to a situation or issue. People take negative tweets personal and call it quits on a friendship.

Last week, I argued with a friend via a comment posted on Instagram.

I ran into him the next day and it was the most awkward encounter I had ever come across. My eyes were glued to my phone blank screen as I walked by. I assumed he was angry with me and he assumed I didn’t want to be his friend ever again.

As a 19-year-old college student, I am a millennial and the generation we are in today is categorized by our use of technology and media consumption, according to Pew Research.

Staring at a smartphone is the new form of communication because it is much quicker and effective to send a text instead of an email or letter.

A study conducted by UCLA scientists shows that children who were not using their smartphones for a week improved significantly over the five days in their ability to read facial emotions and other nonverbal cues to emotion.

When it comes to flirting instead of approaching a person and getting to know them, some people wait to send out direct messages letting them know how they feel about them.

Screens are a confidence booster. People are so used to receiving affection through a phone screen, they forget how to communicate in person. When they get into arguments with someone, it’s usually through social media or text messages. People forget the importance of a face-to-face conversation, body language and tones.

They defect to Twitter or Facebook to express how they feel which is why so many people have such thin skin.

Sending a period at the end of a sentence makes it seem as though a person is angry or upset about something. When did a perfectly structured and grammatically correct sentence seem so harmful?

When there isn’t a period and we’re left with one worded texts, and assume the person doesn’t want to speak to us or is irritated.

People need to learn how to start talking again, go on first dates and address an issue without the use of a phone.

Rachel Reyes can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.