Edd111@aol.com wrote:
> What is probably implied by this study is that the more one interacts on the
> net, the less 'real' or 'in the flesh' interactions with people. Sure, one
> can definitely grow intellectually on the net, particularly among the
> extropian/nano group of people, but emotional sustenance, and your ability to
> psychologically interact with family, friends, and others is definitely not
> going to be enhanced by spending lots of time reading and e-mailing on the
> net.
What the study's developers did not account for was the fact that because the net
allows individuals to develop contacts from a much larger pool of potential
contacts, they are far more likely to develop contacts which are more fulfilling
and productive than the limited contacts that many people are restricted to in
their local area. Because of the smaller local pool, the overall quality, and
sorted quality is far below what net contacts offer, so they are paid less
attention.
That being said, from my own experience, I have only a few freinds locally that I
spend time with, and they have been freinds for many years. Outside of that small
core group, most of my freinds are a result of meeting in the flesh people I met
here or on the >H mail list.
The study's main flaw is in valuing quantity over quality.
Mike Lorrey
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:03:52 MDT