In recent years the Internet has offered us the opportunity to make many new relationships on any given day. On a daily basis we can tweet, skype, update Facebook status, etc. to anyone in the world. This is great! But if we remain behind the computer and don’t make any efforts to actually meet up with anyone face-to-face, then we’re missing the whole point of: “Social Networking”.
What gives the Internet its value and power is people. But we often lose sight of that with all the other life distractions going on around us. People are the point. Not “visitors” or the number of “friends” or “likes” or whatever one constantly checks. I feel sorry for those who are alone in company and people checking their phone while out to dinner with another living, breathing human being.
Once we learn to rule our technology instead of letting it rule our day-to-day lives we will be much happier. The internet, in all it’s vastness, is just another tool, another distraction preventing us from seeing the value of being in company of others. The Internet doesn’t define us, never was meant to and could never contain what makes us who we are.
The human heart pumps warm red blood through our veins, and we should respect that.
The above cartoon by Peter Steiner has been reproduced from page 61 of July 5, 1993 issue of The New Yorker, (Vol.69 (LXIX) no. 20)only for academic discussion, evaluation, research and complies with the copyright law of the United States as defined and stipulated under Title 17 U. S. Code.
