Social Studies.(live interaction and the influence of 'Facebook' website)

Jean Baudrillard, as any philosophy student will tell you, theorized that, in the postmodern world, "the territory no longer precedes the map." In other words, if you are a member of N.Y.U.'s class of 2011, you probably arrived in New York City with a preexisting web of soon-to-be college friends from Facebook, the online social-networking site. You know which of them count "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" among their favorite movies, which are interested in punk rock or organic food, and which belong to such groups as "My Pimpin' Is Immaculate, Hard Like Calculus!" and "I Went to a Public High School . . . Bitch." You and your friends may or may not have actually met.

The peril in getting to know classmates on the computer is that incoming undergraduates may forget how to do so in real life. That was the thinking behind "Facebook in the Flesh," a seminar held during N.Y.U.'s freshman orientation. "Meeting new people face-to-face can be . . . intimidating," a brochure read. "This fun, interactive workshop will get everyone talking as we build social networks in person." The session took place at the Kimmel Center--it was scheduled at the same time as "Dude, Where's My Class?"--and drew about thirty-five students, who spent the initial minutes sitting side by side in uncomfortable silence. Eventually, two girls struck up a conversation and realized, to their delight, that they were both from Long Island. ("Suffolk County?" "Me, too!")

"Here's what in-person networking is," David Schachter, an assistant dean, began. "It's face-to-face. It's brief. It works best when there's virtually nothing at stake except a few minutes of someone else's time. And it's social. It happens in the same space."

Schachter went on to describe the benefits of live interaction: "Is there a way that, perhaps, if you're trying to find out what the great falafel place is, you might be able to do it through your social network?" No one mentioned that this can easily be done online. "What else do you think networking with peers can help you find out about?"

"Things to do?"

"Requirements you might have missed online?"

"Fascinating things about other people?"