I'd like to point out that this isn't a new debate, they said the same thing about the written word, radio, television, ...
Any everyone of those things did push people further away from each other. Twitter and facebook and the rest doesnt create social networking, it destroys it. Ever wonder why younger people seem to have so much trouble verbally communicating themselves (...umm like, umm, like, dude, you know, its like, uhhh, whatever man...)? I have watched teens text to each other in the same room and not talk. Texts, twits, blogs, forums, facebooks, emails, its all a way to communicate with less chance for reprisal for what we say. In other words, the worst of ourselves we normally keep hidden from each other so as to create civilization is unleashed in cyberspace. We start reading everyone else secrets, desires, hates and BS, and we start to project that cyber insanity upon those people we know and talk to in real life and start to wonder "are
they one of
those who think
that...". The current world hysteria (IMHO) is a prime example of that insanity moving from cyberspace to everyday interactions that ends up creating socio-political idealogy. HECK - I feel like a schmuck just for posting to this forum every few days, even tho its the only forum I post to, and I am a schmuck anyway.
If you wanna socially connect: go make a friend in the real world. Walk up and say "HI!" to everyone you see. 99.9% of people are starved for pleasant friendly connections and interactions. If someone says instead "Hey, screw you jack off!", then just move on to the next person and say "HI", cuz the angry fellow was probably watching/reading to much cybercrap and was full of anger at people he has never met and has no outlet for his rage at things that dont actually effect his own life!
That being said, I am going to a Tea Party now (to make new friends to rage at things - oh, the irony)
edit: spelling, and to say, I am not really going to a tea party. but i thought about it.........