Articles

Discover Virtual Intimacy and Interaction

Theodora Stites is 24 years old, lives in New York and works in the market research industry. The NY Times published an adaptation from Theodora's essay “Someone to Watch Over Me (on a Google Map)" which examines how the twentysomething generation interacts with each other.

Theodora’s online network of contacts is linked to her cellphone – she is always available and is always searching for new online communities to join. Theodora states “I need to belong to all of them because each one enables me to connect to people with different levels of social intimacy.”The Internet has replaced human contact as we formerly know it. Theodora prefers "a world cloaked in virtual intimacy." By signing into instant messenger and various online communities, it allows her personal network know she is awake and she is ready to receive and send text messages.

Many of the people within Theodora's contact list live within close proximity, yet they never meet in person. "We have enough connection online for our degree of closeness and don't need to enhance our relationship by spending time together offline."

Read the entire article here

Posted on July 9, 2006
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