Virtual connections CAN be healthy

By Jerry Kranitz (January 12, 2026)

The online world has received justifiable criticism for promoting isolation, alienation, tribalism… the list goes on. The most casual observer can see how unhealthy it’s become. In her reflective book about how people have embraced the mediated world, Christine Rosen says:

“Virtual connections bring real benefits, but we are reaching a point where we are beginning, en masse, to prefer the mediated to the face-to-face. The sheer number of people in public space who are demonstrating ‘absent presence’ is only the most complained about example. Walk down the sidewalk. Count the number of people who are using technology to mediate their experience in some way.”

Tell me about it. I go to the local community center daily where they have a walking track with three marked lanes. It too often seems like half the people are absorbed in their phones, either Bluetooth chatting away or, the worst, eyes glued to screens and meandering across lanes.

It’s a big topic. But I’m not here to further rant about the negatives of online life and smartphones. My experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. It ‘could’ be for everyone…

The good old days of virtual communication

I’ve been online since 1992, starting with CompuServe and quickly transitioning to the internet. Music is my life passion, and I quickly discovered Usenet newsgroups and listservs, where I could communicate with fellow enthusiasts around the world. I networked heavily with both fans and musicians. Poor behavior was NOT tolerated in these groups. Of course, people disagreed and even argued. But it was always in the spirit of real debate. Genuine bad actors were shunned. It was all quite simple.

In 1994 I traveled to Towson, Maryland to attend the Progscape music festival. In 1995 I attended the inaugural Progday festival in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, which lives on annually thirty years later. And from 1998 to 2001 I attended the Strange Daze Space Rock festival in Cleveland, Ohio.

I learned about these events via online networking. And at each I met and enjoyed the company of music fans and musicians I had been communicating with online. These are just a few examples of in-person opportunities I’ve had.

From 1998 to 2016 I experienced a networking bonanza by publishing my Aural Innovations music webzine and associated Aural Innovations Space Rock Radio show (‘podcast’ wasn’t a word I was aware of at the time). I still like the banner I used on the website. It’s so… 90s!

Virtual communication in the 21^st century

Fast forward to 2026. I am unaware of online forums for the kind of meaningful discussion I enjoyed three decades ago. Reddit? Maybe. Facebook is where all my music ‘friends’ are. Social media has changed everything. And I’ve come to terms with that.

Over 30 years of networking I have cultivated what I can confidently call a ‘community’ of genuine friendships. In many cases, I’ve met people in person. Face-to-face changes the dynamic and solidifies bonds of friendship. But even my purely virtual connections have been fruitful. I’ll share some examples:

My networking activities resulted in researching and writing a book about the 1980s to early 1990s DIY home recording network. I conducted interviews with subjects around the world via email and even some by phone if they were based in the U.S.
My friend Martin in Australia hosts the Cassette Culture Podcast. He invited me to cohost the show, and we’ve been meeting face-to-face via Squadcast (it’s like Zoom) to conduct interviews. It is both strange and exhilarating to talk face-to-face while I’m in Ohio, Martin is 15 hours ahead in Australia, and interview subjects are 6-7 hours ahead in England or Europe. It’s like we’re in the same living room together.
There are several people, mostly U.S. based musicians I became acquainted with by writing about their music but over time developed friendships. We’ve never met but we talk by phone and chatter away like the oldest of friends.

Did it save a life?

A woman in Moscow, Russia posted on Facebook about a mutual friend in Portland, Oregon who she had not heard from in several days. This was unusual enough to concern her and ask if anyone had a phone number and/or could somehow check on him. A Portland based individual who has been friends with the person in question since high school and even has a key to his house saw the post. He lives 60 miles away but said he would head over immediately. It turns out the guy had a mild stroke, and the friend got him to the hospital. Facebook… pause on that.

It’s all about HOW you use it and… Restraint

Any form of online communication, be it social media or whatever, it all boils down to how we use it. For me it’s a mere tool. It’s a tool I’m dependent upon, but that’s how I choose to characterize it. There are a handful of simple but firm policies I live by:

I never argue when the argument has no relationship to healthy debate. Ignore, scroll on.
I never post about politics or respond to political posts. Just scroll by. Is the temptation to react that hard to resist? (I’ve seen zero evidence of healthy ‘debate’ in the political arena)
I never engage with what I’ll indelicately call idiots. In Facebook terms, the UNfriend button is a mere click away. Pretty easy really. People struggle with it for some reason.
I am not umbilically tied to my phone. It too is just a tool, and a convenience.

These are, of course, my personal experiences. But I think it contains considerations for everyone.

How do you function in the online world? What is your ‘relationship’ with your phone? Do you consider it healthy? Think about it…