Is the virtual world good for the "real" one?

02-24-2011

Blog by Joseph Kahne/Huffington Post

In a cartoon depicting the evolution of Good Samaritanism in the digital age, a man walks by a homeless person lying on the street and does nothing. In the next frame, he is at his computer -- "What's this?!! Sally needs a bag of fertilizer for her Farmville farm? I better get right on it!" Many are struck by the amount of time some people spend in online communities -- and concerns have been raised that our attention to virtual communities may be distracting us from the tangible needs of those around us. Frankly, when it comes to youth civic and political engagement, there is reason for concern. Just 23 percent of 18-29-year-olds voted in the 2010 election. And even in 2008, the recent high point of youth engagement, 55 percent of those 18-29 were judged both civically and politically disengaged on the nationally representative Civic Health of America study. (more...)

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Is the virtual world good for the "real" one?

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