The End of Solitude

Before I had even finished reading "The End of Solitude," which we responded to in an assignment last week, I instantly felt myself arguing against it. The article opens up with a focus on technology, and how social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as texting, eliminate our capabilities of being alone. While this may be true in one dimension, I feel that the enabling of virtual communication is making us more alone than ever. When one honestly thinks about it, someone can keep in contact with their "friends" without ever truly leaving their home. We can instant message, text, e-mail, and Facebook-chat people over the internet without any face-to-face communication necessary--we don't even have to hear the person's own voice. With virtual communication, our social skills are rendered unnecessary. We never learn how to communicate properly with people or form true bonds. Yes, we may be able to be "surrounded" by our friends 24/7 through virtual forms of communication, but who is to say that these friends are even true? They may be friends formed solely over the internet--and without in-person communication, we do not know if these people are who they claim to be at all. Yes, we can constantly keep in contact with people in this day and age, but I feel that as if the form of communication has made us more alone than ever. It takes actual people, not social networking sites, to make us feel less alone.
Geena Cova