Science and Medicine
EMERGING FROM THE ELECTRONIC CAVE
Instead of creating isolation, computers help build friendships
By Janet Basu
onsider Zachary,* made
to order for isolation by computer. A
self-described loner, he asked for a single room when he arrived as a
freshman in 1995. His room, like most at Stanford, was wired directly to
the universitys computer network. Critics of this plug-per-pillow
arrangement said it would lead students to hide in their electronic
caves, avoiding face-to-face interaction, not to mention ruining the
chance to develop the proper wrist action for Frisbee. Zachary was
poised to be their poster boy.
His dorm, Rinconada House in Wilbur Hall, was the first college dorm in
the world with its own web page and one of the first to use listserv
software that permitted all 96 residents to send and read e-mail
messages circulated to the entire group. Zachary soon plugged in to
these online discussions and became one of the lists most frequent
correspondents.
Related Information:
Isolation city? Au contraire. At meals, other students sought him out to
comment about his online musings. People dropped by his room to talk.
Over the year, resident fellows Rich and Roni Holeton watched Zachary
gradually
|