Look around you: how many items with an internet connection can you see from where you’re sitting? These days, we have a constant companion in our pocket, at our desk, and in our homes. Our computers, phones, and iPods allow us constant access to the internet and thus to each other. But as our lives become more and more saturated by technology and our total communication skews increasingly digital, our connections are becoming less and less human.

As a result, some individuals are fighting back by leaving their phones behind, disconnecting from their laptops and coming together to connect face to face. Some advertisers have caught on and have begun to create campaigns around these connections, like Dentyne’s Make Face Time campaign, or T-Mobile’s Life’s For Sharing. These campaigns focus on their products’ role in human connections, whether it’s as simple as fresh breath for when you lean in for a kiss, or the technological means to bring people together to collaborate or connect. Of course, this has all come through baby steps. From dating sites to XBOX Live, the humanization of digital interaction has slowly altered the DNA of our online interactions.

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