indepence and relationships

Test the statement: We express independence but we value relationships.

Consider whether online relationships flourish and in what form, how online relationships compare to RL (real-life) ones, whether youtube and the internet is a ‘hotbed’ of cultism, whether ‘youchoose’ your friends on ‘youtube’ and how all of this affects how we interact. Are we closer or more distant?

Consider the emo kid phenomenon where an online, real-time romance began but was later discovered to be faked. However, Facebook may be a better example of this aspect of cultural inversion: http://www.jordoncooper.com/2008/09/08/the-social-impact-of-facebook-and-twitter/

& examine such articles as “I’m so totally, digitally close to you”: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html?ex=1378440000&en=b87f67f56fa2fbe2&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink & the social impact http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_impact_of_facebooks_platform.php