Bridges and Barriers

Been thinking lately about how hard it can be to stay connected to the people in your life, how it should be so much easier in this electronic age. Really, though, all the electronic "bridges" like Facebook, texting, blogging, Twitter, etc, are becoming barriers... we don't call each other any more, don't hear the sound of a human voice, can't see each other's faces. We like to believe we're still in touch, but our relationships become more shallow the longer we IM or txt or blog. In-depth conversations are becoming a thing of the past. I can have the same level of communication with a family member as I do with someone I knew in junior high... and sometimes, I like it that way!
On the other hand, without this technology, I wouldn't be able to share pictures of my little ones with their grand-parents, at least, not as immediately. I wouldn't have been able to re-connect with friends I had lost track of and missed. And it is fun to be able to just log in and see what so-and-so is doing Right Now! Shallow? Yes. Worth it? You betcha!
What got me thinking about all this?
I was poking around in Facebook, and out of nowhere, found the profile of my brother's little girl, Megan. I haven't seen her since she was an infant, many years ago. Through some crazy melodramatic saga between my brother and his ex-wife, Megan ended up in another country, seperated from her father's family more concretely than any political barrier could do. I was excited to see her on Facebook, but realized that since she is still a child, I should contact her mother before initiating anything else. After all, I would appreciate the same respect if it were me and my daughter. Well, it looks like any bridge I may try to build with my niece is going to be blocked by her mother... at least until Megan is old enough to find her family on her own.
And, so - bridges and barriers.