According to WebUser.co.uk, PlusNet (a UK ISP) has released a study concluding what many have said for years:

Nearly a third of people say their relationships have suffered because their use of digital technology means they ‘talk less’.

Among other “ground-breaking” conclusions:

• 90% said email, text, and IMs make communication less personal;
• 41% said they’d rather get a phone call;
• 40% say email, text, and IM are less confrontational;
• 27% use email, text, and IM to flirt;
• 22% use email, text, and IM to apologize for missed birthdays;
• 19% use email, text, and IM to call in sick to work.

I mentioned some of my thoughts on this in my interview with Garrick the other day. The Internet “mediates” relationships, like postal mail does, or sending messages to your spouse via the kids. But the almost “real-time” immediacy of the Net conceals it’s mediating