What kind of future does the non-virtual world have?

More and more, we relate to the world and other people over the internet and through other portable visual communication devices. We can video-conference instead of traveling somewhere. We can Facebook all day or fluther all day instead of finding real world friends or visiting real world friends in person. The internet makes socializing much easier.

My daughter spent a lot of the summer online, on Facebook, presumably with her friends. She does this during the rest of the year at night, when she isn’t in school, but it expands during the summer. My son was online studying tablet PCs and DSLR cameras as well as watching his favorite TV shows. He did come out and go crabbing when we were on vacation in Chincoteague. Both went to the beach, but wanted to do little else.

Do we need the real world so much any more? Can we do what we need to without going out and doing physical things or interacting with the real world? Do we really need “face time” any more? If so, why? How much? The same as always, or less?