West
Christina West
615-885-4841
Dr. Annette McCreedy
Essay #1
9/22/03
The Internet makes people more isolated. Isolation is to be separated from others. The Internet does not produce the expanded sense of community we think it does. Granted, getting on the Internet connects people to the world in a virtual reality sense, but not in reality. Some people tend to devote most of their time to the computer and not to their families. I know of many people like this, in a way I am one of those persons.
The community the Internet produces consists of chat rooms, instant messaging, e-mail, message boards, games, and many ways of staying in contact with people. Not to mention the many web pages that can be searched at the click of a button. Anything that is worth doing and studying can be found by looking through search engines like Google or Yahoo. These are some of the reasons people have become isolated. Now Instead of asking a family member for advice, people can look up depression or eating habits on the Internet and find ways to help themselves. Websites on depression and eating disorders are not going to be as helpful as talking to a family member about these problems; at least they can be there physically for support. Internet buddies might be there to talk, but not to touch, feel and give hugs when one is needed. Dating services are also a very common thing to come across on the World Wide Web. Another popular aspect of the Internet that can seriously isolate people are multiplayer games.