Here is an interesting article on the shortcomings of online communication and the reasons why it can lead to social problems such as “flame wars.”
The central idea is that online communications, such as e-mail and discussion groups, are so impoverished that much of the subtle, non-verbal messages that we normally rely on to govern our social responses are missing. The result has been labeled “the online disinhibition effect”, and it is the reason behind cyber rudeness.
The solution is to make sure that people who work together do meet face-to-face as much as possible, and to be aware of, and develop strategies against, the impoverished nature of online communications.
Web Rage: Why It Happens, What It Costs You, How to Stop
Although claims that telecommunications will replace travel have persisted ever since AT&T proposed the videophone in 1964, technology is a complement, rather than a substitute, to meeting face-to-face. People communicate better when they are together, and they also communicate better online after they’ve spent some time one-on-one. The memory of what a person is like in the real world mitigates the mind blindness created by our online tools.
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