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From: Leys Geddes
Date: 16 Oct 2008
Time: 03:08:01 -0500
Remote Name: 86.163.200.31
Hello there, E.G. Strange to thank me for including the internet in my article! Yes, communications and relationships have changed, for many of those who have internet acccess. But when I see people with 342 friends on Facebook, and I remember that the number of friends you have on Facebook is supposedly in inverse proportion to the number of friends you have in real life, then I wonder about the difference between friends and acquaintances. Remember, too, that many people create new personalities for themselves - so who they pretend to be on MySpace may be completely different to who they really are. So whilst communication is now easier, and the internet has the potential to bring you loads of new relationships, there may be little depth to them. Clearly, schools need to recognise and include the internet in their formal curricula and in terms of every day life, but I do not think it can replace real, face to face relationships. When you put all this in context for CWS, who are probably much more likely to hide away, adopt new personalities and use the written as opposed to the spoken word, I think the internet may have many features which look very attractive in communcation terms, but which are not helpful in relationship terms. Which is why, in that article, I touched briefly on how the increasing use of audio visual programmes on the internet may well give CWS and PWS a Rubicon Moment!