You know, we're probably doing it wrong. The Internet allows you to obtain many, many of the day-to-day answers in the blink of an eye. One would think that this is great, because theoretically, by virtue of such a shorter question-answer loop, you are freeing up more time to interact with your fellow human beings, have meaningful conversations with them, learn from them.
What I think happens is this: most people simply don't care that much about making contact. Not so much because everything can be found on the Internet, but rather because they are turning into less of a social animal than, maybe, we as a species used to be in the past.
In a way, I would argue that the fact that we can be more independent because BosnianBill on YouTube teaches you how to pick locks without you needing to ever leave the house, means that you feel like you don't need other people to be around in order to get answers or learn some cool skill.
To be completely honest, while I don't have any experience of living in any city that can be considered even remotely big, I have a hunch that, ironically enough, living in a huge city such as NYC is a bit alienating. I said "ironically" because I would guess there are more social happenings than you could partake in even if you could do it as a full-time job.
Ultimately, I think it boils down to trying not to forget that the Internet is valuable, but a good number of people are more valuable. Be it for their knowledge, for their humor or just their kindness. As with everything else, I believe one should find some sort of equilibrium between online resources and human interaction.
Easier said than done, though. The big likes are instant gratification, while maintaining a good friendship is a lot of hard, long term work. And today "long term" is a word we tend to dislike when it comes to getting gratification.
I don't know if any of this makes any sense, as I basically just jotted down my thoughts as I went.
