I sit in front of my computer screen about fifteen hours a day. It's true that I do it for work, but I have often wondered if I would do it even if I didn't get paid for it. Honestly, I "talk" to my friends in the computer, especially those I work with, way more than my real life friends. It's easier. Effortless, actually. And I can just turn on my little red gmail chat light when I don't want to be bothered.

So I wasn't surprised to see this article (even if it is slightly alarmist because it is from the Daily Mail) that notes that
an informal study showed that students are having a more difficult time developing social skills because of their reliance on cell phones, the Internet, text messaging. School teachers participating in the survey said that what kids do at home -- and how much time they spend messaging at home -- impacts the way they interact with other children at school. And most say that the impacts aren't good ones.

I can totally see how the Internet could dent a child's budding social skills. I don't have a whole lot of social skill to begin with, but what little I did have has been mostly eaten by my computer, I'm sure. I find myself sometimes yearning for voicemail over a person, an email over a face-to-face meeting. Why should it be any different for my kid?