Social Interaction

When I first thought about the Internet effects social interactions, it seemed really obvious that of course they inhibit interactions, but after really thinking about what people use the Internet for it didn't seem to be such a simple answer.  Just as the article "Social Media: The Internet and Social Interaction" by Sandra D. Delgado discussed, using the Internet gives individuals a much broader spectrum of people to interact with.  These people/businesses are able to reach people who otherwise would be impossible to come into contact with.  Although for businesses it may be more beneficial to reach a higher number of people, for an individual, quality of an interaction is usually more important that the quantity of interactions.  I believe that the Internet has the ability to make interactions easier or simpler, whatever you want to call it, but is not always able to help those interactions move into more personal relationships.  

Overall, I think that the Internet does hinder real social interactions among people.  The Internet can help to begin many interactions among individuals, but I think that real person to person interactions are vitally important to our lives.  As Delgado mentioned at the end of her article, there is no replacing seeing your dog roll in the snow and experience their happiness first hand, and listening to an album downloaded from your computer only lets you see (or hear) one side of the artist's lifestyle however when you attend a live concert and see how that artist interacts with the crowd and with others in the band.  There is no way to replace real social interaction, no matter what the technology may develop into.