In discussing the internet with our kids, as parents, we try to warn them about all the dangers of the internet. I have never really found myself talking about the good aspects about the internet and social media. This past week I experienced one of the best characteristics of the internet. I came to learn that it has truly made the world a smaller place and made it easier to reconnect with people from our past.

Like many of us, I am Facebook friends with many people from my past, i.e. high school, college, and law school, whom I rarely see. But, through Facebook, I feel as if I still have a connection. Last Tuesday I was following the Facebook status of a former law school classmate of mine who, lives in New York, but was in Washington, D.C for the day.

As soon as I heard about the Amtrack crash, I checked her Facebook page to see whether she had posted a recent status. There was none. When I woke up on Wednesday, I did so again. Again, there was no recent status. I then, even though I have not spoken to her in the “real world” for many many years, sent her a private message on Facebook asking whether she was okay. She immediately wrote back that she was okay and still in Washington.

With that interaction, I realized how small my world has truly become through my use of the internet. Without the internet I would have no connection with this woman and many many others like her from my past. Yet, through the use of Facebook, and with this woman in particular, her blog, I still feel a relatively solid connection. And, through the internet, I was able to reach out in a time of crisis.

Have you reconnected through the internet?