How has the internet changed the way we communicate with others

I think the internet has given us more chances to communicate with people that we may not see on a regular basis. It has helped to keep me close with family that I see infrequently. I have one Aunt that I see at weddings or funerals, but we were always close when I was young. The internet has allowed us to communicate via emails as well as share photos of special things going on in our lives. In this circumstance it has helped bring me closer to family that is far away. I still believe it is impersonal, but it allows us to keep in touch. I honestly feel that if this technology wasn’t out there we wouldn’t communicate at all (which is unfortunate).
The internet has also helped me to become closer with my cousins. Now that we are all adults we are all over the country. We used to live far apart as children and only saw each other for a week out of the summer and at thanksgiving. Now that we have Facebook I feel like we are closer than we were as kids. We are able to “chat” and share pictures of milestones in our lives. In just the last 2 years 8 of us have had children and Facebook has allowed us to watch each others children grow up. They may never have the closeness that we had as kids because we are all so far apart, but I hope the internet will allow them to get to know one another.
Personally I make a point to talk to my siblings and my parents once a week, whether it’s in person or on the phone. I like to keep in touch with them that way. Something about hearing their voice even when we are hundreds of miles apart feels like home. If I ever get to the point that I don’t visit my family or pick up the phone to call my brother because I would rather just send him an email, I have a problem. They are the closest people to me and I wouldn’t let anything get between us. Not even something as big as the world wide web.
I do however find myself not keeping in touch with friends as much because I read about what they are doing on Facebook. This is something I am not proud of admitting, but it’s true. Sometimes I feel like I have talked to them and know what’s going on in their lives because of this only to realize the only reason I know this is because I read it on Facebook. Other times I am having a conversation with someone and I will mention something just to realize they probably also know this because it has been posted on Facebook. Sometimes I wonder if friendships would be different if it weren’t for Facebook. I do find it a little crazy looking at how many friends I have on Facebook. I sometimes wonder who actually knows me for me and who just knows me from what I post. If I were to just stop using Facebook would anyone realize I wasn’t around anymore? Makes you think.
As for sending emails I regret or viewing an email that was meant to be private; I have never come across this situation. I feel that if I were to come across it though, I would respectfully let that person know that I received it and maybe shouldn’t have.
People in politics know they are in the limelight. If they are dumb enough to send an email or post something on the internet that could cause a problem that’s their own fault! These people are educated and are the leaders of our country, state, etc. they should know what they are doing. You send a personal email that is discriminating then you should be caught. The internet is not to blame!