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I read this question, and I imagined myself sitting at my computer with my hands placed on the keyboard and wires shooting up my arms. Headgear and mouthpiece, the microphone picks up a little bit of feedback. "Excuse me," as I lean in to adjust some settings. Fingers fluttering miles a minute, pages and pages of text. I read somewhere about the link between insomniac behavior and late night Internet surfing: that the brain is vibrantly stimulated while online and that it takes quite a bit of time to get all the nodes to settle into sleep mode.

And to that end, imagine the last time you had a sit-down conversation. Perhaps you stifled a yawn? Faded in and out? Wondered if you forgot to turn off a curling iron or what you need from the grocery store?

I think of most people in the business world who have a Smart Phone, a personal digital assistant, a tablet computer or a laptop all within arm's reach. Pecking and plugging, incessantly checking e-mails, spreadsheets, and reports, rushing to beat deadlines. Step into a coffeehouse and you hope, you pray for some decent signal strength.

I think that the sheer force of the virtual world is astounding. Our dependence is vast, even if it's in the name of convenience. I could live off of some Ramen noodles. I can plug in a portable fan if the air conditioner is out. I can go for a walk around the neighborhood if I'm running low on gasoline. I can cook instead of dining out. But, lo and behold, if the cable modem isn't pumping full throttle down- and upstream, daily routines are all but shot. The question of whether virtual or real-life relationships take precedence is a more specific reference to the power, the grip, and the pervasiveness of the Internet in everyday life anyway.

Social networking on the Web provides a much more expansive realm of potential contacts and associations. It's a matter of sheer exposure. Join one among any number of web portal services out there and many, many individuals are within clicking range. Classify them according to demographics, run a few searches, and you can set up your ideal friendship network. Beyond the everyday people one encounters in school or at work, the potential to meet new people is stunted greatly.

Out of sheer convenience, it's nice to type someone a couple of lines. They don't have to be on the other end, even. They'll get the message. Even if they don't pay attention to it or accidentally delete it, the record of your presence is there. Unlike a voicemail that you can

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