I could've told you that Facebook makes losers like me feel better!

I'm not saying a university study wasn't warranted to find out that Facebook makes a person feel popular and more insulated, but it seems second nature to a person like me. I work at home and it is sadly the most immediate link I have to others. Without human interaction at the workplace, it can be lonely and even an interaction through the Internet is better than none at all. In response to the Facebook articles from Newsweek and Wired, I do not like that Facebook is open to the kiddies more than anyone else and I do think apps like IM could make it more interactive and engaging.

I don't think I'm pathetically addicted to the Internet or social networking but I believe everyone should divorce themselves from the media for a little while just to see what it is like. When I was a raft guide in Colorado, we had very little media where I was and it really simplified life for a while and was far less distracting - until we made each other forms of entertainment. When you are without media options and isolated on top of that, the connections you make living and working together for 4 months straight are a strong bond. It was like summer camp for adults and the bonds certainly cannot be replicated online in this way.

As for Roushe and Holzschley, I am a little tired of having 3 emails, 2 social networks, 2 business networks and tons of passwords. BTW, I don't think Linked-In does anything, either, and I have to suspect that the digital divide is based on income more than anything else!

The most disturbing part of Internet technology is perpetuating unhealthy habits. The worst of these are people like child molesters who can solicit children on the web (as seen every week by Chris Hansen). Technology may also slow the emotional growth of the socially awkward. If you meet someone online and have a long-distance relationship, you are NOT living in reality. You are idealizing a person that doesn't really exist. It's like when people say, "I'm just not good at meeting and talking to people. I don't fit that scene." What they are really saying is, "I don't like the reality part of relationships. I like the fantasy part." Relationships take a little work and I am suspicious of anyone who thinks they can find one by going the route of least resistance. 

I think online dating sites are fine if you are just using them to meet someone locally. At least in this case, there is some comparing going on between people - choices are being made and that person should theoretically be seen soon after computer contact is made. If not, I would beware - that 21 year-old cheerleader you've been chatting up could end up being a 59 year-old merchant marine.