in today's busy world, people spend a lot of time with computers, and they spend less and less time with people. does this change how people interact with family and friends? does it help or hurt people and relationships? sociologists disagree about this. some worry about the internet' effect on our friends and family. others think this is not a problem. studies show that people spend less face-to-face time with family and friends than they did a few years ago. instead, they play online games, shop online, and also look at social networking sites. in the united states, the average person spends 13 hours a week online.