Since the invention and popularization of the Internet, computer communication has become an increasingly common way of socializing. Many people have expressed fear that abandoning physical communications could have negative repercussions on society; However, socializing on the Internet has a number of advantages over traditional socializing. The Internet provides a larger pool of potential social contacts compared to people searching physically, creates ways for people to communicate easily when they are spatially or temporally disconnected, and allows for a comfortable atmosphere for communication. At any given time, there are more people available for socializing on the Internet. then there are people with whom we can meet physically and socialize. This makes it easier to search for social contacts on the Internet and offers a wider choice of potential contacts. Additionally, if one is looking for a particular category of people to be friends with (for example: people with a certain hobby), it is likely that one can find those people on the Internet. People who use the Internet to socialize have more social contacts than those who do not socialize on the Internet.1,2 Some say that one can find many people to meet physically. The effort required to actively seek out new contacts with whom one can physically socialize is far greater than the effort required to find people on the Internet. Additionally, meeting new people physically is much more dangerous than meeting new people online. Meeting new people online is faster, easier and safer than meeting new people physically. The Internet allows people who are spatially and temporally disconnected to communicate easily. The most obvious example is email, which allows people to override the negatives. It allows individuals to communicate quickly and easily with a large pool of people in a relaxed atmosphere. Socializing on the Internet should be considered a valuable tool to complement other forms of socialization. Works Cited Shanyang, Zhao. "Do Internet users have more social links? A call for a differentiated analysis of Internet uses". Department of Sociology, Temple University. February 2, 2009. Barbara, Ortutay. "Internet not linked to social isolation, study finds". HuffingtonPost. February 2, 2009. Sarah, Birnie and Peter, Horvath. "Psychological Predictors of Social Communication on the Internet". Acadia University, Canada. FEBRUARY 2, 2009 .