Stacey Fowee
CSCI 380
Web Programming
February 4, 2002
Does the Web Isolate Us or Bring Us Together?
Since the creation of the Internet, and later the World Wide Web, people have been debating over the effects of these new technologies on our society. One of these debates centers around socialization, or simply whether the web isolates us or brings us together. This is a debate, however, that currently does not have a definitive winner. People on both sides of the debate have presented equally important points, and from there it is up to each individual to make their own decision for now.
Not too long ago 4000 adults were surveyed about their lifestyle in connection with web use (http://net4tv.com/voice/Story.cfm?storyID=2051). Of those surveyed, the results were as follows:
· 13% spend less time with family and friends
· 8% attend less social events
· 34% spend less time reading newspapers
· 59% watch less television
· 25% shop less in stores
· 25% work more out of their homes
These results can be interpreted as evidence to support the notion that the web is isolating people. Clifford Stoll, in his famous book entitled “Silicon Snake Oil,” claims that “computers teach us to withdraw, to retreat into the warm comfort of their false reality” and that the web is “an unreal universe, a soluble tissue of nothingness” that “lures us to surrender our time on earth.” Another trend made more possible by the Internet and the Web is telecommuting, or working from home. However, studies have been done that suggest not only can telecommuting increase isolation, but it can also lead people to work more and neglect their family (http://ed.tsud.edu/tcubed/reflections/Spr99/SSO_Darren_Stevens.htm). Even if people spend their time online interacting with others through chat rooms, message boards, and web-mail the skeptics would question the quality of these relationships given the anonymity, the possibility of deception, and the limited access to a person’s complete personality. So, there are many ways in which the web isolates people rather than bringing them together.
There do, however, exist alternative views on the subject of web isolation. People who support the notion that the web brings us together would look at the survey results presented earlier and counteract them with logical explanations. There could be just as many people connecting with long-distance relatives and friends over the web as there are people spending less time with their family and friends. The people attending less social events could be shy people who are more comfortable conversing with people over the web. Instead of reading newspapers people can now get their news online. Less television is not necessarily a bad thing, and shopping online could save time. As for working from home, for many people this enables them to spend more time with their family and possibly keep their children out of day care. So, each of these supposedly negative results has a possible positive explanation.
There are also many ways in which it is obvious that the web does help to bring people together. Religious networks have developed on the web, which allows people to share and discuss their faith with people around the world (http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1997/mar/hend.html). Sites to help teenagers discuss, address, and deal with the issue of school violence have emerged on the web. Communities for elderly and disabled people who have difficulties getting out of the house are available to keep them informed of services available for them and keep them connected to the outside world. In addition these specific aspects of the web, the very basic idea of the web is that it allows for different people all around the world to connect and share ideas and information. For the most part those who believe in the good of the web point out that the web was not the reason for the change in the level of isolation in our society. Many point to automobiles and the development of suburbs as some of the contributions that led to social conditions which have driven people apart. Not only that, but some also contend that the extreme cases of web isolation are simply the result of too much of a good thing being bad for you. So, the web, if used in moderation, does bring people together.
Despite all of this information, the debate over whether the web isolates us or brings us together continues to wage on today. The opposing sides each have valid points but this is a question that I believe is too complicated to be given a simple yes or no answer. In my opinion, the web does bring us together as long as we realize that web contact is no substitute for human contact. A little privacy and isolation every once in a while can be good, but nothing replaces actual human interaction. So use the web to enhance the sociable aspect of your life, not replace it.