Internet damages intimate relationships, says academic

INTERNET dating and online sites such as Facebook and Twitter are damaging intimate human relationships and creating a new generation of goldfish bowl voyeurs.

NUI Maynooth Professor of Irish Literary and Cultural Studies Luke Gibbons maintains “context-free” communication and the opening up of private lives for all to see is eroding intimacy in Irish society.

In a paper which addresses the impact of the internet and social networking sites, to be given on Monday in NUI Maynooth, Prof Gibbons offers a comprehensive overview of the role of cinema and popular culture in Irish attitudes to the body, sexuality and intimacy.