I've been thinking a little more about the differences between an online presence and a person's real presence. Here's a sad story that speaks to the difference. It's about a young girl who even though she was sending positive messages through texts and social media, later attempted suicide.
This is so sad, but it underscores one huge problem with an online presence: people will generally portray themselves and their situation in a positive light, even if that may not be the reality.
As that article further discusses, most of communication is nonverbal, and therefore reducing communicating to text dismisses so much relevant information about how a person really feels.
