Creepy or Connecting?

Today in class Dr. Burton focused on connecting with people. When he first said this I thought to myself, "I already am connected!" In my mind I listed the ways I connect with people through technology, and by the amount of time I spend on Facebook and from the 200$ phone bill I paid last month because I used all my minutes twice, I think I connect enough. However, this class has proved me wrong.

English courses have an advantage over many other courses because as class we interpret and share out thoughts on pieces of literature. It is through these class discussions that we come to know our classmates' personal opinions and feelings whether we want to or not. I have come to know Ben Wagner and Rachel Schiel because they sit on either side of me, so we talk during class, but other than these two, I wouldn't say I have been a social butterfly, but as I looked around at my classmates today, I felt that I knew them-even though I've never spoken to many of them. How is this? Through online connections. I saw Matt Harrison across the room, and I thought, "Oh ya, we both love the movie Fight Club." I know this because he posted it on his blog. Behind him was Derrick Clements who posted one of the funniest articles I've read on Diigo. Really? French kissing over the internet? I thought it was funny, and it showed me a bit of his humor. This probably sounds creepy; in fact, I'm sure it does, because it sounds creepy to me as I read what I've written so far, but the truth still stands: I know the personalities of my classmates via the online connections we've made in this class, yet I've never verbally spoken to many of them!

Facebook and texting are not really connecting (most of the time they are simply ways to procrastinate and run up a phone bill). However, through sites I've joined because of this class I have connected with people on a more than status update foundation or semi-colon and parenthesis smiley face : )