People get immersed when they first go online, but if you're a normal person, eventually that'll even out. And if you're not a normal person, it'll become apparent pretty quickly. If someone is spending 200 hours a month online, you have to wonder what he did before. It would be better if he had a life, but if you unplugged Echo it wouldn't necessarily be a kindness. Maybe he'd just watch TV instead.
People say the Net brings out the worst in some people, and absolutely it does.
But New York brings out the worst in some people, too. Every place does. And we're no different than any other community. Come talk about the nature of online community in Table Talk's Digital Culture area. All rights reserved.