Sometimes at my "live" support groups people poo-poo the idea of online support. I think it is because it is not a replacement for human contact, and they think I am suggesting it as an "alternative" to the live support. I always point out that the live support group meets for two hours once a week... but if I can't sleep due to anxiety I can come here at 3:00 am and find people.

To me they really complement each other. And for people in deep isolation I think it can be a good way to ease back into society.

I don't think it is a good thing if people are hiding from the world and using the internet to hide (hiding out for a short time is OK, I'm talking about long term people using it to avoid contact with others) There are exceptions to that two... people who are unable to get out, people who are working with severe problems interacting with other people...

But a lot of people assume that the "friends" in cyberspace are nothing more than a distraction from the real world. It is much more than that in a lot of cases. In some ways the interaction may be "artificial" but in many cases the friendships are very very very real.