Could the net really bring us together?

I will be one of the first to admit that I am harshly skeptical of the Internet as a source of community. After these readings thought I find myself asking if the judgment I have so readily and hastily passed on the Internet as a form of community is just. The paper on Korean Netizens was especially thought provoking. The use of the net to speak out against hair length in Korean schools was an interesting insight. Korean high school students are already plagued with exam prep classes, often times starting at 6 AM and then studying into the late hours of the night. That coupled with the extreme pressures placed on them to perform are only enhanced by the pressure society and family placed on them to proudly represent the family in society make Korean youth prone to suicide and mental breakdown. The net gives them a chance to come together and speak out in a mini mutiny of sorts. The net lets them speak out in away that is not accepted else where in their society. The extent to which the net has connected the people of South Korea, from elections to soccer games to hair length, is inspiring to say the least.