According to some worrying new studies, people who invest their time developing online relationships in social networking websites like Myspace and Facebook are becoming increasingly less aware of their real offline friends and family. And it's not just the Internet that's distracting us from our respective social milieus. Mobile phones, iPods, Palm Pilots and game consoles all suck-up precious face-to-face time in a culture that was already television obsessed to begin with.
As far as technologies go, communications is a biggy. From cave paintings and maps to the written word, the printing press, radio and television, human communication has continually, fundamentally and permanently changed the way in which we interact. But the changes are not all positive, and we increasingly find that the benefit of greater connectivity, speed and access to information has come at a cost.
For as much time as I spend online, seeking out exclusively electronic "relationships" has never appealed to me. Having said that, I've fortuitously made several friends online, some of whom I've gone on to see in "meatspace" -- in all cases finding the person on the other side of the screen completely recognizable and familiar.
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