All this online social networking was supposed to make us closer. And in some ways it has. Thanks to the Internet, many of us have gotten back in touch with friends from high school and college, shared old and new photos, and become better acquainted with some people we might never have grown close to offline.<\/p>\n
Last year, when a friend of mine was hit by a car and went into a coma, his friends and family were able to easily and instantly share news of his medical progress\u201d\u201dand send well wishes and support\u201d\u201dthanks to a Web page his mom created for him.<\/p>\n
But there’s a danger here, too. If we’re not careful, our online interactions can hurt our real-life relationships.<\/p>\n
Like many people, I’m experiencing Facebook Fatigue. I’m tired of loved ones\u201d\u201dyou know who you are\u201d\u201dwho claim they are too busy to pick up the phone, or even write a decent email, yet spend hours on social-media sites, uploading photos of their children or parties, forwarding inane quizzes, posting quirky, sometimes nonsensical one-liners or tweeting their latest whereabouts. (“Anyone know a good restaurant in Berlin?”)<\/p>\n