And I should point out that the main point I am making has to do with the formation of bonds between people and how that has changed with the advent of the internet.

An interesting aside: one of my personal experiences in this regard happened on Facebook. A young man in Egypt sent me a friend request after we both joined a Facebook group that was oriented to holding Facebook accountable to its members. That was a totally race/ethnic/culture non-specific group. I have no idea why this young man made the friend request. He speaks some English, but a lot of his posts are in Arabic. I know very little about him except that he lives in Egypt, he is somewhere in his late teens or early twenties, he loves soccer and some kinds of rock music, and he wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to the young ladies in his life. I wouldn't say I have formed a primary bond with him - I've never even communicated with him directly. I only learn about him through reading what he puts on his Facebook page. But I care about him as a human being in a tangible way rather than the abstract way that I care about people I am not personally aware of. This is what the internet is doing for people and it is changing the world.