If you want to know what I'm up to tonight, don't check my Twitter, Facebook or even Gmail status. Sure, I have accounts on three of the sites, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want the world to know what I'm up to every second of every day.

But more importantly, why does anybody care what I'm up to? The people who should care -- my friends and family -- already know. Anyone else begging to check my status updates either needs to find something exciting to do in their life or take notice of the restraining order I'll be filing next week.

Web sites that alert the world to our every move aren't going to cause the end of the world, but they may just be the first steps to the end of privacy as we know it.

I don't know what's worse: feeling the need to announce to the world your every move or actually sitting in front of a computer or check your phone every five minutes for updates to your friends' or celebrities' Twitters.

Yes, these Web sites are great tools for news agencies, groups, companies and people to update the world on important happenings in their lives, but we don't need every last detail. I mean, who really is dying to know that Tom from Ebensburg just blew his nose?

I don't know where our society's infatuation with being 57 places at one time came from, but it's clear it's starting to take a toll on everyone. People today are overworked, over-stressed and always on the go, thanks in no small part to ever-encroaching technology and networking sites.

It has yet to happen to me, but I've seen it take place in restaurants across State College. A couple is out on what appears to be a date and five or 10 minutes into the conversation, one person is picking up his or her phone to either respond to a tweet, text or update a status.

This just makes me wonder: Where is that person's mind at that moment? He or she is obviously not giving his or her date the full attention they deserve. People seem more concerned with living in some cyber world than concentrating on the one he or she is actually living in.

A recent University of Southern California study claims Twitter and other rapid-fire updated sites can hamper and cause long-term damage to the emotional development of children's brains.

The brain, especially while in the developmental stages, takes a while to process feelings of social emotions and the constant updates on networking sites can result in an overload. It also can lead to shortened attention spans and lower grades.

An Ohio State University study indicates that students who are Facebook users had GPAs a full letter grade lower than non-users. Yes, there are many other spurious reasons for this relationship, but the fact of the matter is Facebook and Twitter abuse are to some extent hurting society.

There's nothing wrong with keeping a profile and updating it every once in awhile or catching up with old friends. But why every 15 minutes? Why stalk?

Have our lives become so mundane that we need to know the intimate details of our favorite celebrities' every move? Read a book, go for a walk, talk to a living, breathing friend, whatever you do, take some time away from the virtual world.

Maybe if we just focused on the tasks in front of us and were efficient, there wouldn't be a need to feel like we have to be everywhere at once.

So the next time you're having a thoughtful conversation with someone or are out on a date, turn the cell phone off. Trust me, it's not going to kill you.

What could you possibly miss during that hour that is more important than this person to whom you've supposedly pledged your time?

The conversation will be infinitely better, you'll feel better, and your friend or significant other will feel truly appreciated.

Society evolves, but sometimes it does so at too rapid a pace. By slowing down and appreciating what is in front of us, we can calm down and reduce stress. Somewhere during the past two decades the world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.

Let's just make sure we don't get too involved in this digital world and forget the reality we actually call home. Trust me, someday we'll all have to have face-to-face conversations and the 140 characters allowed for each tweet just won't cut it.

Andrew Wible is a senior majoring in journalism and is the Collegian's Friday columnist. His e-mail address is ajw5050@psu.edu.