Are you old?  I’m sorry, that was rude.  What I meant was — do you ACT old?  There.  That was so much better, wasn’t it?

Here’s a clue:  When you call someone and she doesn’t answer, do you leave a message on the answering machine?  Yup.  You act old.

Or at least, that’s what Pamela Redmond Satran, author of  "How Not to Act Old” says.  Why? Well, most people don’t use a separate answering machines anymore.  And while most phones come with voice mail capability, the up and comers don’t even use that.

Satran’s book says that young people are used to cell phone caller ID.  Callers know that the person being called will see a missed call notification, and will return the call, even without a voice message.  Or, instead of even calling, people send text messages.

With more than 180 tips on how to – as the book says, “Pass for Phat, Sick, Hot, Dope, Awesome, or at Least Not Totally Lame,” it makes for insightful and humorous reading.

But while it’s easy to brush off some of the tips as just amusing, many of them have an important point — times continue to change, and we have to recognize that change and develop skills to stay current.

This seems to be particularly evident in the area of technology, which changes at the speed of light.  Many of the people I know are comfortable with TIVO, call waiting and iPods.  But what about the social media applications like Facebook and "Twitter?  

I recently asked some of my friends and family if they use these new forms of social media and found that while about half of them use Facebook, NONE use Twitter. They thought it was time consuming and just one more thing to have to learn. (Raise your hand if you remember showing your befuddled parents how to reset the VCR.)

In the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to get a better understanding of Twitter.  (I’ve been writing about that particular adventure in my own blog.) Simply put, Twitter is a microblogging tool that lets you send updates just like Facebook, but limits your updates to 140 characters.  The way I see it, going on Facebook is like going to a friend’s party. You’ll see people you know, but there will be people you don’t know, who are connected to your friends.

Twitter is more like going with some friends to Triangle Town Center.  You’ve got your group, but there’s a whole stream of people coming through with different information. You get exposed to much more information than that which comes from your comfort zone.  You can follow updates of specific people, or see what the hot topics are that celebrities, business people, news reporters and ordinary folks are discussing.

And there’s more technology to tackle out there, YouTube, podcasts, Pandora, Digg and anything Google, to name a few.

Yes, there’s a lot out there to keep up with, maintaining your web 2.0 interactions while working in or outside of the home.

But one day -- perhaps many years from now -- when your kids are grown and you don’t have to call and ask them how to use the remote, or wonder why you never hear from them except through social media, you’ll thank me.  However, as Satran advises — don’t send me a thank you card.  A text message will do nicely.

Pamela appears Tuesdays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Pamela on her blog Crazy is My Life.