The Real World

The Globe & Mail has an interesting article about recent evidence that rather than the internet compromising our personal relationships, as some have feared, it strengthens them. What isn't discussed is the quality of the relationships we have - and I would argue that the web has allowed them to be more fulfilling, as we are more easily able to connect with people who closely share our interests, tastes, quirks, and passions.

This touches on something that I've pointed out before: why is it that technological pessimists tend to denounce internet experiences or relationships as being less 'real' than our encounters outside the digital realm. It's not so much that I have a problem with criticsm of an internet-dominated lifestyle (although I think these criticsms are misguided), it's the semantics surrounding the world real, as if sitting in front of computer isn't as 'real' as talking on the phone or sitting across a table at a coffee shop. Yes, it is different, but it's merely a different reality than what we conceive of as traditional human interaction.