04/09/98

Internet Anniversary

Call me sentimental. It's been a year since I began publishing INSIGHTS on the Internet, and what a year it has been! My hope was to create an atmosphere conducive to honest dialogue about contemporary issues, and through that dialogue to generate solutions, or at least enlightened perspectives, about those issues.

Your responses have exceeded my wildest expectations. This alien cosmos called "cyberspace" has turned out to be full of down-to-earth people, receptive to the opinions of others and openly expressive of their own. A few letters during the initial weeks have ballooned to hundreds about such topics as the U.S. justice system, friendship, nomination of a woman for President, home schooling, public access for the handicapped, the environment, gun control, fire safety, child abuse and so much more.

My initial skepticism about computer facilitated friendship has evaporated. Generosity among strangers is standard fare on the Internet; strangers offer each other constructive advice, solace, the empathy gained from similar personal experiences and refreshing anecdotal humor.

Readers don't hesitate to express their anger either. I discovered that gun control is an especially controversial subject. When I stated my opposition to the proliferation of guns in our society and called for much stricter gun control laws, many readers perceived this point of view as a threat to their constitutional right to bear arms. Coupled with my mock ballot to nominate a woman for President in 1999, the sparks really started flying. One enraged reader even called me a "liberal puke!" When the smoke cleared, respect was the winner - respect for each person's right to freely express an opinion. We can agree to disagree, even as we learn from each other.

SNET Internet reaches well beyond Connecticut's borders. I've "met" readers from across the U.S. and around the world, as far away as China and Australia. Thanks to the wonders of international email, a Chinese psychologist with whom I correspond will visit the United States this month for the first time. He was invited to join an international panel at a mental health conference in the U.S., after I put him in touch, via the Internet, with the person in charge of the conference program.

What's ahead for year two of INSIGHTS? Lots more conversation. For those of you with questions about education, visit the Issues in Education section of the SNET Web site. As a school psychologist, I welcome your questions about learning, child development, parenting or school adjustment and will answer them as best I can or suggest ways to find answers.

The shape of INSIGHTS in year two also depends on you. What topics do you find most absorbing? Which ones leave you cold? On what subjects would you like to hear more reader opinions? Cyberspace is a publishing medium where innovation thrives.

And write to me anytime about the issues or problems of greatest concern to you. Perhaps there's a solution just a keyboard away.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.