Online "Face Time"
I read this article a couple weeks ago. It's about Facebook and if it replaces actually spending time with others.
This morning, I read this article about connectivity and whether it's signaling the end of alone time.
Like anything, I think that answers are yes, no, and something in between.
Facebook allows me to stay in touch with friends I can't see regularly. At the same time, there are friends I can see regularly who are too busy to hang out, and Facebook is the the way I keep in touch with them. LiveJournal provides the same thing in many ways.
As far as "The End of Alone," I have friends who think I'm nuts because I have my cell phone off a lot. I have an old cell phone and don't really text much (only really text when I'm meeting with people face to face to say, "Hey, heading your way," and stuff like that).
With some friends, LiveJournal, Facebook, and other social media sites have brought me together, face-to-face, with some people I wouldn't have ever met. The sites have triggered conversations that have brought me together with friends, face-to-face.
There are a lot of friends I don't see often, and the sites allow them to stay in touch with me and others, despite their busy schedules.
So for me, the sites are cool. I can throw thoughts out there and get feedback. I can stay in touch with people. And they've been used to arrange get togethers in person.
I still see a lot of my friends, face-to-face. It's one of my favorite things in the world.
I turn off my cell phone and step away from e-mail when I write, go for a walk, or just sit on the couch thinking--enjoying my alone time.
Like anything, it's how people use things, and social media sites and technology have neither isolated me from actually hanging out with friends or finding time alone, just for myself.
This morning, I read this article about connectivity and whether it's signaling the end of alone time.
Like anything, I think that answers are yes, no, and something in between.
Facebook allows me to stay in touch with friends I can't see regularly. At the same time, there are friends I can see regularly who are too busy to hang out, and Facebook is the the way I keep in touch with them. LiveJournal provides the same thing in many ways.
As far as "The End of Alone," I have friends who think I'm nuts because I have my cell phone off a lot. I have an old cell phone and don't really text much (only really text when I'm meeting with people face to face to say, "Hey, heading your way," and stuff like that).
With some friends, LiveJournal, Facebook, and other social media sites have brought me together, face-to-face, with some people I wouldn't have ever met. The sites have triggered conversations that have brought me together with friends, face-to-face.
There are a lot of friends I don't see often, and the sites allow them to stay in touch with me and others, despite their busy schedules.
So for me, the sites are cool. I can throw thoughts out there and get feedback. I can stay in touch with people. And they've been used to arrange get togethers in person.
I still see a lot of my friends, face-to-face. It's one of my favorite things in the world.
I turn off my cell phone and step away from e-mail when I write, go for a walk, or just sit on the couch thinking--enjoying my alone time.
Like anything, it's how people use things, and social media sites and technology have neither isolated me from actually hanging out with friends or finding time alone, just for myself.