There was a time where I used to constantly pose the question, "do online social networking sites cheapen social interaction?" Now, I don't even think about it, simply because I don't worry about it. Among my close friends, Facebook or even Xanga (back in the day) serves as an enhancement of personal communication; in fact, some of my friends hardly even use Facebook. I'm still a traditionalist, in a generational sense. I like to do things in person, or take the more primitive approach toward networking and/or troubleshooting. This might mean calling someone, as opposed to messaging, let alone texting. But my whole crusade against the advent of social networking sites somehow disappeared between the time I finished high school and now. It had to be college. Problems/opportunities arose that appeared more urgent than my speculations and/or fears of a world dominated by the dot coms.

Side note: I watched Network a few weeks back. It really was an angry movie ahead of its time. If Paddy Chayefksy were in my generation, he would perhaps be something like Howard Stearn crossed with Oprah (granted, you'd have to give him his own talk show). The film offers a bleak view of the world - there are no ideals. There are only corporations. It's existential capitalism at its finest.

Rebel without a cause? Been there, done that. I have assimilated and am no longer an angry man, but rather, one that learned long ago to blend in, and by doing so, remain removed from greater society. To reasonably conform. I think Ralph Waldo Emerson would even agree, to some extent.