Since the invention and popularization of the Internet, computer-mediated communication has become an increasingly common mode of socialization. Many people have expressed concern that abandoning physical communication could have negative repercussions for society; however, socializing on the Internet has numerous advantages over traditional socializing. The Internet provides a larger pool of potential social contacts than people physically search, creates means for people to communicate easily when they are spatially or temporally disconnected, and allows for a comfortable atmosphere for communication. At any given time there are more people available for socializing on the Internet than there are people you can physically meet and socialize with. This simplifies the search for social contacts on the Internet and provides a wider selection of potential contacts. Furthermore, if you are looking for a particular category of people to make friends with (for example: individuals with a certain hobby), you are likely to be able to find such people on the Internet. People who use the Internet to socialize have more social contacts than those who do not socialize on the Internet.1,2 Some say that you can find many people to meet physically. The effort required to actively seek out new contacts to physically socialize with is much greater than the effort required to find people on the Internet. Furthermore, meeting new people physically is much more dangerous than meeting them online. Meeting new people online is faster, easier and safer than physically meeting new people. The Internet allows people who are both spatially and temporally disconnected to communicate easily. The obvious example is email which provides means for people...... middle of paper......z and outweigh the negatives. It allows people to communicate quickly and easily with a large audience in a relaxed atmosphere. Internet socialization should be embraced as a valuable tool to complement other forms of socialization. Works Cited Shanyang, Zhao. "Do Internet Users Have More Social Ties? A Call for a Differentiated Analysis of Internet Use." Department of Sociology, Temple University. February 2, 2009. Barbara, Ortutay. "Internet not linked to social isolation, study shows". Huffington Post. 2 February 2009. Sarah, Birnie and Peter, Horvath. “Psychological Predictors of Social Communication on the Internet.” Acadia University, Canada. February 2, 2009 .