Skyping as a tool for parenting

Stefana Broadbent: How the Internet enables intimacy | Video on TED.com

Watch the video.

So, obviously (as you can tell from this and the last post), I just started exploring TED.com this evening. It is a website that collects talks and speeches from interesting thinkers all over the world. The topics are widely varied. This woman, Stefana Broadbent, explores how the Internet and texting/cell phones are merging the public sphere and private sphere. In the past, when you went to work, you had little to no contact with family and friends during the time you were at work. Now, you can be in constant contact with others through instant messaging, texting, skyping, etc. Our generation is always connected.

On the one hand, this could lead to closer relationships because we are in better contact with people more often (even people who live far away). On the other hand, this could lead to several problems. Aside from the question of decreased productivity at work, one wonders if we are becoming too connected.

After watching this video, I wonder: what does this connectivity do to individuals and our ability to be alone with ourselves?

But now it's too late for me to know what I'm trying to say. So I'll leave that question hanging for someone else to answer.