Past technologies metaphorically shrank the physical distance between cultures; the internet eliminates that distance entirely.
Internet reduced the geographical distances, but also connected rare weirdoes, allowing creation of subcultures that otherwise wouldn’t exist. Members of these subcultures still interact with their neighbors offline, but they often avoid each other online. The situation with the neolithic tribes seems to have its analogies in online life.
Speaking for myself, the more time I spend online the closer I feel to people on the other side of the planet, but I am probably getting slightly more distant from my actual neighbors.
Internet reduced the geographical distances, but also connected rare weirdoes, allowing creation of subcultures that otherwise wouldn’t exist. Members of these subcultures still interact with their neighbors offline, but they often avoid each other online. The situation with the neolithic tribes seems to have its analogies in online life.
Speaking for myself, the more time I spend online the closer I feel to people on the other side of the planet, but I am probably getting slightly more distant from my actual neighbors.