Asynchronous/Synchronous Communication

In class we had a discussion about asynchronous and synchronous communication. Before Professor Baldwin spoke about those two terms, I never knew what they were. After class it was still a bit unclear as to what they were so I did some research online. A handy-dandy google search told me that synchronous communication is direct communication and asynchronous communication does not require all other people involved to be present at the same time. Basically synchronous communication is talking to some in person or on the phone and asynchronous communication is e-mailing.

From my personally point of view I think that asynchronous communication robs people of something very important. Having the ability to communicate with people around you, at the same time is something very valuable. Computers have in a way taken the value of out it. Many people in today's society are so consumed by computers that they lack the skills to go out in the world and communicate. Asynchronous communication is good in some situations. E-mailing a friend once in a while, sending a facebook message, etc. But I don't think that it should be more important than synchronous communication. There's nothing like sitting in a coffee shop having a conversation with a close friend.