Is the Internet negatively impacting our social skills?

[Lisa!]

It's a long time I hear about the negative effct of the Internet on communication and social skills http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/soc/courses/soc4jj3_99/stuweb/gp2/effects.htm
I want to get your ideas about internet's effects, negative or perhaps positive,on one's social life.Do you agree about the effect of internet on one's confidence?
For sure we all prefer to get knowledgeable people's ideas in our favorite areas but do you think it's a good way to fill one's loneliness esp. for young people or children?

 

[arildno]

Well, you certainly don't hone your facial and body language skills by using the internet, nor do you learn to modulate your voice to convey meanings through timbre and pauses and such like.

 

[Lisa!]

Well, you certainly don't hone your facial and body language skills by using the internet, nor do you learn to modulate your voice to convey meanings through timbre and pauses and such like.

Don't laugh but I do!most of time when I'm reading sth, I make face...and it causes some troubles when I'm talking to people face to face because I continue my habbit and it's really bad sometimes.
Sometimes I try to speak like the person who's written sth.For example if he's surprised or angry,I read the text surprisingly or angrily but of course when nobody is around me!

 

[motai]

True, but as far as instant communication goes, the internet can only go so far (unless one has access to high-speed video conferencing and even then it still isn't quite the same). The only other advantage I see for internet communication rather than telephone is the easy ability to archive conversations for future reference.

As for my own social skills with respect to the internet, I'd might as well be living online... sadly enough. Its all too easy to get addicted to the email/IM "Lets-send-messages-right-now!" accessibility of the internet, and all too easy to fall into a withdrawl should the internet not be easily available.

 

[Pengwuino]

One thing i noticed in my own experience is that the internet has brought this instant-demand feeling into my everyday life with people. Calling people on the phone pisses me off to no end because when your online, you simply look to see if they are there and instantly msg them and expect a response. When you call people, however sometimes they're not there... sometimes its someone else and you got to ask for whoever you want to talk to... and people can even intrude on your call! Plus you lose a lot of your sense of formality and your sense of responsible timing. A lot of us seem to introduce ourself differently online then in real life. You also seem to forget when its rude to talk to someone. I expect to talk to people at anytime as long as they are online, be it 3pm or 3am. In real life, you NEVER call someone at 3am but I've almost done it a few times because i forgot that its incredibly rude to do so.