Playing video games. Talking for hours on the telephone. These are strategies one can put to work right away to begin to address the problems raised by spending an enormous amount of time online. Young fumbles the ball in this otherwise-helpful book when she lets her own prejudices about the online world show through. Only one provided an answer that involved physical proximity.
Friendship is so much more than being there for a person physically .
While I admit that is often a part of what we think of as friends, friends have existed for centuries across the miles, across state lines, country lines, even oceans. Some are strong friendships, some are weak, just like the ones which are near to us. So when the faceless community beckons with instant companions and the appearance of intimacy, we embrace it not only with all 10 fingers but with full heart and soul. We are not talking to a computer, after all. We're talking to fellow human beings, with feelings and fears every bit as real and vital as our own.