Each of these little solitary outings made me shamefully happy. Driving to work this week, I listened to callers on a radio talk show discuss a novel about transsexuals. Several callers who identified themselves as transsexuals talked about how much comfort and communion they'd felt from visiting certain Web sites just for them. You can't tell me that this is worse than spending endless hours interacting with the real people around them who may think they are nuts. Rather than sitting in front of the television to unwind after his homework was done, he happily chatted with his buddies.
People already spend a lot of time alone, even when they are with their families.
I grant that there are concerns. My husband, who teaches at a boarding school, told me about an interesting faculty discussion about the pros and cons of wiring each dormitory room for Internet access. I didn't explain that I had made that decision because I wanted to keep an eye on what he was downloading, nag him when he has spent too much time online and pat his head occasionally, but I think he guessed. When people gain more money and more choices, it seems they often choose to move farther apart. Part of the answer is that privacy and solitude are very attractive and often emotionally salubrious states.