World Wide Connection Or Isolation

World Wide Connection or Isolation

Can something as powerful as the Internet that connects people around the world also isolate people? The Internet has undoubtedly provided many options. For the technologically person, the Internet is a simple tool. However, it becomes a question of why people use the Internet. In "The Internet Encourages Isolation", author Dorothy Chin express concerns over the increasing use of the Internet. Although she acknowledges the power of connectivity with the Internet, she express concerns that as children and adults spend more time in front of the computer that they will spend less time out in the world actually meeting people (Chin 57). In her assessment, the Internet has become "an extension of the gated, ghettoized communities in which many children grow up." By evaluating the increasing use of the Internet, Chin presents reasonable concerns over the isolation that can be caused by this increased technology.

One of these concerns is that beliefs in stereotypes will grow as a result of limited experience with people outside one's own ethnic group. Indeed, as children and adults, spend more time on the computer, they spend less time in the world meeting others. Chin accurately recognizes that we may meet people of different races through the Internet but not being able to see and hear the whole person limits the experience (Chin 57).

A second major problem that stems from limited experience is faulty reasoning. Faulty reasoning can be combated over time as the capacity to think develops and experiences grow. If we get to know more people of other ethnic groups, we learn to make discriminations about them other than color, shape, or size. As Chin points out, our chances for getting to know people different from ourselves may be diminishing as we put up gates around our communities (Chin 57). It is clear that our ordering takeout, shopping online, chatting