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Life

Living online: I'll have to ask my friends

By Liz Else and Sherry Turkle

13 September 2006

Is social networking changing the way people relate to each other?

For some people, things move from “I have a feeling, I want to call a friend” to “I want to feel something, I need to make a call”. In either case, what is not being cultivated is the ability to be alone and to manage and contain one’s emotions. When technology brings us to the point where we’re used to sharing our thoughts and feelings instantaneously, it can lead to a new dependence, sometimes to the extent that we need others in order to feel our feelings in the first place.…

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