I don't expect people will actually read it, and even if they do, I don't expect people are willing to have their preconceptions upset, but I gotta link to this article in the NT Times Magazine that says that technology is not driving us apart after all.
Two of my favorite findings: that people in more-wired neighborhoods knew their neighbors better than those in poorly-wired ones, and that the "ubiquitous" problem of people in crowds isolating on cell phones is bogus - findings showed only 3-10% of people on phones, and those people are alone anyway. From the article: "People on the phone were not ignoring lunch partners or interrupting strolls with their lovers; rather, phone use seemed to be a way to pass the time while waiting to meet up with someone, or unwinding during a solo lunch break."
The truth, as always, is more nuanced than either an all-good or all-bad interpretation will allow. But cell phones and the internet will not be the end of human society. We just change things, that's all. For some people, that's bad enough.
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