Of course, the Web can be a great tool for gathering facts, buying things, exchanging ideas, even expanding knowledge. It can help us in so many ways. It is the most incredible advance in communications since the invention of the grunt. More importantly, if used wisely it can save us huge amounts of time and energy in handling the routine chores of life so we can put more of ourselves into actually doing things that matter and less of ourselves into errands. It just isn't a substitute for life.
Life is a lot like journalism.
If you want to make it real, you have to show up. There are legitimate concerns about privacy, about commercialization, about psychopaths frequenting chat rooms, and about the emergence of media giants who are not only providing much of the news and entertainment, but controlling the channels of distribution. They're all troubling problems. But I'm less worried about the charge that the Internet is creating a new generation of loners and further loosening the bonds of social interaction. Last week, a newly released Stanford University study concluded that the Web is leading to greater social isolation, with many Americans spending more time on the Internet and less time interacting with their families and friends.