The Internet Does Not Equal Isolation Essay -- Internet

The Internet Does Not Equal Isolation The computer has become a centerpiece for almost everyone’s lives. Teachers require homework to be typed, and students go through an Internet search tutorial at the beginning of every year. Communication online plays a role for many people with the introduction of instant messaging, message boards and chat rooms. Even businesses run their companies on computers and sell online. This can bring up controversy. Some believe that the Internet isolates people and takes away face-to-face interaction. Some studies have been done to see if the Internet causes loneliness. Does this mean that all Internet activity does harm to the world? No, in fact, it can do quite the opposite when actual contact is impossible. Internet has the potential to save lives, connect families and friends, and give ill patients a support system. Internet provides exceptional resources for health information, in particular transplants and organ donations. The web provides a great opportunity to share a wealth of information, and informing people about diseases and providing resources helps a lot in patients’ understanding. For example, TransWeb (www.transweb.org) provides a great amount of information on organ transplants and donations. On this site, the latest news, stories and conference information can be found. Another excellent website is the page for the United Network for Organ Sharing (www.unos.org). Under contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this nonprofit organization makes sure that â€Å"News, patient information, statistics, data requests, Internet links, and more are available at this site, as well as the bylaws and regulations that govern tissue allocation† (Sjogren). Dan Sjogren also... ...E-mail eases trauma.† Nationwide News 7 Dec. 2003: 34. Lexis-Nexis. Rodney A. Briggs Lib., Morris, MN. 7 Dec. 2003. â€Å"Internet use may benefit survival of minority/ethnic patients.† Cancer Weekly 18 March 2003: 24. Expanded Acadamic ASAP. InfoTrac. Rodney A. Briggs Lib., Morris, MN. 7 Dec. 2003. Minerd, Jeff. â€Å"The decline of conversation: with everybody wired, we are starved for face-to-face conversation.† The Futurist Feb. 1999: 18. Expanded Acadamic ASAP. InfoTrac. Rodney A. Briggs Lib., Morris, MN. 7 Dec. 2003. â€Å"Peer-to-Peer Computing Can Help Speed Pace of AIDS Drug Research.† AIDS Weekly 16 Oct. 2000. Expanded Acadamic ASAP. InfoTrac. Rodney A. Briggs Lib., Morris, MN. 7 Dec. 2003. Sjogren, Dan. â€Å"Transplant information on the World Wide Web.† AORN Journal 68 (1998): 1035. Expanded Acadamic ASAP. InfoTrac. Rodney A. Briggs Lib., Morris, MN. 7 Dec. 2003.