What you see here is the conflict inherent in defining what human interaction is. Some have cursed electronic means of socialization due to the fact it "isn't healthy" but the truth is we don't know for certain how healthy it is. It's new. Technology that allowed instantaneous communication over long distances hasn't been around much in the history of the world, especially one that allows for more than one-on-one conversation.
It could be said that by having to deal time online to maintain friendships, we're becoming as a people more withdrawn in face-to-face encounters, and perhaps this is why people don't seem to talk to their neighbors anymore.
What you're seeing is a feeling among some that whatever you're doing isn't healthy because it's not "real" human interaction. There is some truth to this. Lying about yourself online is much easier, and other things that go into conversation, like body language and nuances of the voice can be lost rather easily.
But at the same time the web makes it much easier for people to maintain contact despite differences, and much more inexpensively than a telephone will allow.
I suspect the human race will have to re-adjust the way it thinks about human interaction over the next couple decades, at least in nations where Internet communication and entertainment are high.
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branchandroot
Ah, The Problem...
Date: 2003-12-04 06:41 am (UTC)It could be said that by having to deal time online to maintain friendships, we're becoming as a people more withdrawn in face-to-face encounters, and perhaps this is why people don't seem to talk to their neighbors anymore.
What you're seeing is a feeling among some that whatever you're doing isn't healthy because it's not "real" human interaction. There is some truth to this. Lying about yourself online is much easier, and other things that go into conversation, like body language and nuances of the voice can be lost rather easily.
But at the same time the web makes it much easier for people to maintain contact despite differences, and much more inexpensively than a telephone will allow.
I suspect the human race will have to re-adjust the way it thinks about human interaction over the next couple decades, at least in nations where Internet communication and entertainment are high.