December always brings year-end reviews and prognostications for the future, and it seems this year everyone is writing about the rise of social media, highlighting what's good and what's bad. And one threat that seems to be universally touted is the intimacy experienced through this digital interaction is replacing or undermining real face-to-face personal relationships. As a fairly regular social media user, I do not agree, but I don't plan to extol the benefits of social media in this post. Rather I'd like to provide evidence that social media is not replacing real social interaction, but rather exists nicely along side it, and in fact, even enhances it. And I have proof.

1) The attendance at museums, especially evidenced by this week in NYC, is certainly not declining. The lines at the MOMA to see Tim Burton's drawings and at the Met to to view Samurai Art were staggering. In freezing temperatures, people stood outside for over an hour just to mingle with thousands of others and view two dimensional non digital images. I saw the same lines at the skating rink at Rockefeller Center. Granted it's the holiday week but still people are not staying home. Impressive. No social media required.

2) Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, holiday travel is always the lead story on the news as in "more people travel on this day than any other." And why? Because going home to family for the holidays is wonderful, and cannot be replaced by skype, twitter or facebook. But you can share those moments with family that could not be there if so inclined.

3) This holiday season the Kindle was the most gifted Amazon product ever. And while this may not directly relate to being social, it proves people still want to be engaged with long form communication and richly woven stories longer than 140 characters, and not just watch YouTube videos or comment on Facebook posts. Hooray.

4) And last but not least, I find I'm actually able to stay in touch with more people than ever, people who's email addresses have changed, or who have moved and neglected to send out their new phone number. And I think we've all reconnected with folks from our past --like our old boyfriend from that summer long ago --that we might otherwise have lost touch with.

All of this is simply proof that social media is not replacing the real thing, but I think keeping us closer. So on this eve of a new decade, I wish everyone a wonderful very social new year.