" Those his age are conscious of what life was like before the internet; he may have been young at the time, but he can still remember when people only socialized with those they knew already or the people physically around them. Someone born in the nineties can’t do that. The internet’s been a part of their lives, their consciousness from the beginning; they were born at the same time and have literally grown up together. Nothing about communicating with strangers seems weird or second-rate. Because Ray can remember what life was like before, he sees it as something less human, but they don’t—their experiences as humans are intrinsically tied to the internet and the connections they make online are just as valid and meaningful as those they could make with the people sitting next to them in a class. It’s at once sad and kind of enviable. "