Replacing Place

In Mitchell's essay "Replacing Place" he asserts that online communities will soon take over and replace coffee shops and college quads. Although his essay is dated, he makes a valid point. Every day online communities are growing and spreading across the nation. Online communities allow people from New York to mingle and mix with people from India or Serbia if they so desire; eliminating the feeling of distance between nations and peoples. However; I do not believe that online communities will ever fully eliminate "places" such as coffee shops. Although people are enamored with online communities, it is human nature to desire physical touch and smell. We cannot deny our senses, so it is inevitable that we will continue to meet in places like coffee shops, and continue to satisfy our senses.