Do people know how to talk to one another anymore?

I say that there are two things that have caused the downfall of civilization, air conditioning and cell phones, specifically texting. When our forefathers, and I mean the "Baby Boomers", would be at home after work, school, etc., they had no AC in the house. They mingled with their neighbors; they knew what was happening because they interacted with each other. AC is invented and people go inside, and doors close for good. Neighborhoods are geographical in nature now, not built on a base of who knows who. You would hear of neighborhoods and their history, some ethnically based, others built on socioeconomics, but they existed, and people are still friends with people in some cases. Now a days, outside of the "big city" these just don't exist. I go out of my way to find out who my neighbors are, hell one even has a key to my house, just in case. That level of trust cannot be made with a door closed and windows locked.

The cell phone, what can I say about them. My dad was a fire chief, and he called his radio his "Leash" because when on duty he had it with him all the time. Cell phones are modern leashes, allowing for people to be in constant contact with us 24/7. Then texting became the way to communicate and enter slang, emoticons, shortcuts, whatever and there goes conversations. People do not talk anymore, merely a quick "text" to let you know I'll BRB, OMW, or even K.