Pen-Pals

When you were a kid did you know anyone who had a pen-pal? Or did you have a pen-pal? That was cool, wasn't it?

But what if your friend spent all of their time writing to and reading notes from that pen-pal? What if they that's all they did? They didn't play with friends. They didn't come outside. What if they stayed in their house all the time writing note after note after note to their pen-pal? That would be a little weird, wouldn't it?

What if they did come outside and when you ran up to say hi, they took out a little notepad and started writing notes to their pen-pal while you were talking? That would be rude, wouldn't it? Or maybe just as you started talking, they took out an envelope from their pen-pal and started reading the letter inside.

Would you still think it was cool to have a pen-pal? I doubt it.

As a kid, you'd probably take off and find someone who really wanted to be your friend.

Why is it that as a child we would have recognized this behavior for what it was, but as adults we do the same thing digitally and call it 'social networking?'

Perhaps children have a basic understanding of what a "friend" is that we as adults have lost sight of.