Interview with the OC

I found this interview to be very interesting and I know the guy:

What is the Internet moving towards as an electronic entity? Do you agree with the assessment that it is turning people into inadequate socialites?

I think that as an entity, the Internet is in serious danger of choking to death on its own excrement, e.g., spam, viruses, Flash animations, etc.

As for whether it’s turning people into inadequate socialites: define “inadequate.” It changes the way people interact with each other, but then so do televisions, ATM machines, iPods, and self-service gas stations. Any technology that reduces the need to interact face-to-face with other people changes a person’s social patterns. Is this a bad thing? No, it’s just a change.

To say that it is bad is to say that change is inherently bad and we should all be living in tribal villages, listening only to live music, and never interacting with anyone outside of earshot or walking distance. Granted, thanks to the Internet I now have more communication with people in Australia and Europe than with my neighbor across the back fence, but on the other hand the people in Australia and Europe are far more interesting and intelligent than my neighbor. I’d rather be communicating with them.