see Insig...very good point, excellently put!
I think the internet provides for the lack of what we used to consider our community, our society. A combination of the relentless campaign by right wing politics to assert the individual over society and the fact that we are now exposed to the wider world whether we like it or not means we desperatly seek the closeness of community we once held
Unfortunately as close as the internet can get to providing that sense of community, it can never replace it. Thats why it is essentially a unfulfiling enterprise. Rapeboard is an example of like minded, tho diverse, people who have created their community...but when you log off, smiling maybe, hard or wet (whichever appropriate) you still go away not quite fulfilled...unless, like a few of us, you have met someone who shares such similiar views and desires.
We are all missing things....whether its society, god or a loving relationship...in our lives...I find the internet provides a fascinating bridge between my wants, needs and desires. As a learning tool...as a communication tool...its the dogs bollocks...
But it cannot replace reality. Never. X