John Grohol looks at "new research [that] suggests that a person can increase their feelings of belongingness — the sense of being in a social situation — by simply watching television." He writes:
Is any of this a “good” thing? Well, it depends on how you look at it. If you’re home-bound or an older person who has lost all of their friends and family, you don’t have a lot of choices in where you can grab your social interactions. If you can get something that provides similar relief from feelings of loneliness and rejection from television or the Internet, it may be sufficient (and more than sufficient in some cases) for people faced with such a situation.
The Dish 