When I got my first television set, I stopped caring so much about having close relationships.

On two separate occasions I got into a rather intense debate with experienced onliners who claimed that text relationships via email and chat were as powerful, if not more so, than those experienced in person. Both onliners talked about how they could more deeply express their true selves via text, how the merging of their minds with their cyberspace companions far exceeded anything possible in the real world, how one's physical appearance was not only irrelevant but an annoying distraction. I said that I understood their point of view, but also pointed out the important qualities of in-person relating, such as seeing and hearing people, and how we need physical contact, such as hugs and kisses. They staunchly objected, claiming these things were both primitive and superficial. Finally, I said to each of them, “If you had to choose between spending the rest of your life only in person interacting face to face, or only online interacting via text, which would you choose?” One of them fell silent at my question. The other said, “I'd stay online.”