Re: computers and isolation

[John Walter <walterj@xxxxxxx>]

On Sun, 1 Apr 2001, Karen Degerstrom wrote:

>    But about violining as a metaphor of sharing yourself with others,
> instead of lambasting it with your musical mis-abilities, can you see that
> music that inspires is different from the isolating the self on the
> computer?

	This metaphor doesn't work for me because I don't regard the
computer as an isolating object. In fact, I use computers to build and
maintain friendships. For instance, it wasn't until CCCC this year that I
got to meet friends, real friends, that up until a few weeks ago, I'd only
known online. They were the people I'd know for a couple of years now.
The only real difference between our online meeting and our face-to-face
meeting was in the activities we could do. Face-to-face, we went to see
the Viking exhibit at the Denver Science and Nature Museum, we ate meals
together, and saw a movie. The discussion, the interaction as people, was
the same. 

	As others have suggested, I think it comes down to a question of
comfort. I'm comfortable interacting both online and face-to-face. I'm
as comfortable using a computer for work and play, so it doesn't seem
to me like an object of isolation.

John Walter
walterj@slu.edu

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