The real world is not a nice place to be right now. Africa has a massive AIDS plague in progress. The European Union is being shaken by fraud, and Indonesia's a violent place to be. China's still Communist, and if the Russian economy collapses, it will take with it billions of dollars in foreign loans and investment, and spark a second worldwide Depression. If all this hits the fan, exploring other cultures in the context of the online consciousness won't even be an affordable luxury.
Survival can be an ugly affair.
The good news is the world economy is still relatively intact and no fanatics have started another World War. So far, the Internet is growing by leaps and bounds worldwide, and the electronic culture is still Western-dominated, although this growth will cause some diversification. So go ahead, relax, and debate and explore the finer points of e-consciousness. Just keep an eye on the real world to keep it from biting you unaware. Provoking people to think, challenging assumptions, and edifying others take up his time when he's not watching hockey or plotting media domination.