Over the series of time, technology has significantly changed and affected our way of life, including how we communicate. In the past, people have been communicating long distance via the telephone, letters, and even telegrams. With the new wave of technology, the internet has become a main source of communication. While people tend to communicate with people they already know on the net, they can now talk to and meet new people. While communicating on the internet is enjoyable, it can affect our lives away from our computers, in ways previously unimaginable. The way we use the internet to converse to one another has vastly altered how we communicate, in both negative and positive ways.
             E-mail and instant messaging are easily the two most popular ways of online communication. Email accounts make it easier for one to keep in touch with, for example, a cousin in Australia. Instead of placing expensive, long distance phone calls or going through the hassle of buying stamps and letters, a person can simply log under their free e-mail account, such as hotmail.com or yahoo.com, and write him/her a note or letter. E-mail allows people to send letters in seconds, and gives people certainty, as regular mail can get lost. Also, many job resumes ask for an e-mail address. However, when people want to chat instantly online, they use an instant messaging service, the most popular being AOL Instant Messenger. It is similar to e-mail, the only difference is the people using it are communicating in real time, and they receive messages instantly, and can return them instantly. There are also chat rooms, in which up to fifty people can communicate at once about any given topic, or private chat rooms, an intimate chat room just for friends. In addition, people can create their own sites and join online communities, such as myspace.com, where they can post "blogs" and meet other people without leaving their home. Also, websites like xanga.co...