In the assigned reading (page 160 of Envision in Depth), the article in question was speaking of Internet sites, specifically Soompi, a chatroom website typically used by Asians, predominantly South Koreans. While the article specifically speaks of how Asians across the world use it to help in learning cultural skills they cannot learn from the people around them, lying beneath the surface it speaks of something even more.
As the article mentions, Soompi is used predominantly by Asians, especially those who are not living in Asia. Many of them wish to learn more of their Asian culture, something especially difficult for some who have no one living around them who can teach them. Others go for the sense of community, other people with similar interests that they can meet and become friends with, making them feel part of a group, some for the first time.
No matter their reasons for joining, the help and camaraderie many have found there will forever impact their lives, mostly in a positive way, helping shape them to be better people in the future.
Lying beneath the surface of this, is how the Internet has changed everyone's lives. The first page of the article mentions how 15 years ago, communication and cultural identity was limited into certain categories: geographical, language, and others. With the emergence of the Internet however, our generation, and to some extent older ones, have shattered those boundaries. Instant communication across the world, the ability to find answers to nearly any question, the chance to make friends with people you might otherwise have never met, all of these and more have made the modern world more connected than ever before.
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