Just the Opposite: The Net doesn’t isolate; it brings new communities together. E-mail lets long-distance friends stay in touch. Chat rooms bring shy folks out of their shells. Sure, it’s not face to face, but neither is the telephone.
Weird Science: Some call for ‘a more random selection of survey respondents studied over a longer period of time.’ (AP Online) Said an analyst, ‘It’s preliminary work and it doesn’t tell us much.’
Not Its Fault: ‘[T]he problem isn’t the Internet. The suburbs and the long automobile commutes to our workplaces have… left us too far apart.’ (N.Y. Times)
Media Motive: The study gets media attention because it says Web users read papers less, watch TV less and … are lonely. ‘[M]ass media’s message is: If you leave us for that new Internet thing, you’re gonna pay the price.’ (Salon)
