Is it just me, or has the world changed a lot (or am I just getting older)?

This may sound like me standing on my soap-box and delivering a judgement, but it's not. I promise, it's just an observation.

The other day, the mister sent me a link to look at Sweemo (Sweet Moments). Apparently, this site lets you bid on having a "second life" and pay for an experience like swimming with the sharks, or going backstage at a gig, etc. It has a lot of info on the site and is very confusing, and you don't even know the people and the companies you're bidding on. Huh?

You know, maybe this is just lately, but I feel like people drown themselves in the virtual seas of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Sweemo, Second Life... the list goes on and on. I understand that some of these social tools are good to keep in touch with family and friends, but some people seem to live their entire life online. Not with real people, real family, real friends, or just real experiences. They just lose themselves in the blue glow of their computer.

So, my question is this: Have people completely lost the urge to just go out and explore this world? What happened to all of the adventurers out there?

Yes, there are responsibilities of jobs and families, but if you're spending 8 hours on the Internet looking at experiencing a second life, shouldn't you use that time to plan an adventure of your own? Or if you have a partner, plan something amazing with them? Or your family?

I remember what life was like before the Internet. I was blessed to have a great childhood, as did my friends. I played kickball in the street in the summer, and I didn't know what a cell phone was. We didn't have You Tube, so we were blissfully spared videos of 16 year old girls beating the shit out of each other, or videos of people committing suicide. I had books that I read until they fell apart, not books online that kids can access now. I liked going to the library and being surrounded by that musty old-paper smell. I did have a computer- it was a Tandy 2000TX, and the printer printed out grey text off the screen that nowadays would look like aliens had transmitted it. And I actually spoke to people on the rotary-dial phone, rather than sending texts to my friends like "C U L8R, LOL".

Nowadays, I see kids as young as 8 carrying cell phones so that when they "go out" with their friends, they can call their parents. I'm torn as to whether that's good or bad. And really, whether 8 year olds should be hanging out with their friends without adult supervision. I see girls that are 7 years old that complain about the calories in a cupcake, and I hear 12 year olds talk about oral sex.

All of you out there that are parents must be torn, and you deserve a medal, each and every one of you, for being brave enough to tackle this world with your little one in it. I am truly astounded. Some day the mister and I will decide that we'll join your club and probably end up worrying about the exact same things, but in the meantime, I'll sit back in my quiet corner and make my silly observations.

Let's keep making our own adventures. And here's hoping that this fast-paced modern world won't result in our children's children talking about oral sex when they're 5.