h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

That about says it I guess. What with internet messaging and all that milarkey, people feel as if it's just an alternative to seeing people. Sorry to burst your bubble folks but

THIS IS NOT TRUE

As in many things on the intenet, one must look to etymologies to sketch historical evolution. Chat applets such as IRC, ICQ and the notorious MSN (yes it was a strain not to put BIG there).

The name says it all really: MSN Messenger: Micro-soft Network Messenger. So small pieces of software connected together and communicating with eachother. Obviously we all know there are other people on the end, but we often forget the actual messenger.

1000 years back, a messenger was a human being, who sent letters to people. Now obviously, in our technological age we can send messages at the speed of light, but whats dangerous is we forget it actually happens. We just see the messages on our screen and think magically Marcus speaks and the message appears. We have forgotten the messenger.

This is a problem because if we forget the messenger we forget the medium. If we forget the medium then we might come to believe there is no medium at all, and so see things such as MSN and the Forum (a roman beuilding where people congregate to discuss important matters) become replacements for real interaction. This is a dangerous trend emerging. For which reason I am seeking to disavow my internet identity as much as possible. People probably won't understand, but I do not require them to.