Unfortunately, this isn't a "we" thing. This is one piece of crap that each of us has "designed." It's our own behaviour and we can't blame anyone else or ask any one else to fix it. While our friends and family can help, ultimately each of us has to fight our own tendencies toward Internet addiction.

So what's Doc Gerber's cure for Internet isolation? Set time limits for Internet activity for yourself and your kids if you have them. Encourage others close to you to do the same. Talk more to others face-to-face. At first you and they might get upset and fear a fight brewing in all this closeness. That's OK; just keep face-to-facing. That's how people used to interact all or most of the time and it's how they kept everything from turning into a battle royal personally, socially, locally and internationally. The rest of the good news is that a number of formerly unspoken hostilities will melt away in ways they never will when you deal with the world through Internet glasses.

How did I become such an expert on Internet isolation and its affects? Ask my family. My name is Barry Gerber and I'm a recovering Netaholic.