"CMC is used to refer to a wide
range of technologies that facilitate both human communication and the interactive sharing
of information through computer networks"
(Barnes p4)
The World Wide Web now overlaps into both informatics and conferencing.
Informatics is anything dealing with electronic storage and retrieval of digital data. Conferencing involves the connecting of people.(Barnes p4)
CMC provides entertainment, allows social interaction without face-to-face contact, creates an avenue of escape from reality, and provides information. Internet
interpersonal relationships and questions about identity are current topics of interest for those who research the sociological and psychological impact of the internet.