I have met some amazing people through online networks. The connection is deep and the friendship close. Would I have felt the same about them if we had met in person?

As for the Psychological issues I go back and forth on that too. The internet tends to isolate us as we look at our screens instead of interacting with people in person yet it keeps us from being isolated too. We don’t have to leave our desks to interact. Honestly it is all confusing. Maybe in ten years experts will be saying this is all a bad thing.

Is it really that “radically new” ? In many ways, of course it is. But, I also remember the many pen-pals I had with friends in other countries as I grew up in which we had nothing more than the written word on which to base our friendship.

Obviously, social media has amplified this tremendously. And, does it hurt or hinder? Does having access to a person’s social graph and profile allow us to actually make *more* informed judgements about people? And, is that good or bad?

As a fellow J, I know this feeling. I’m not a master, but observing and gathering and forming assumptions is par for the course, online or off. And, certainly, it requires a leap of faith. In anything we do, we risk being burned, or making a valuable connection.

Thank you for your thought-provoking analysis of the subject!