Artificial connection

The internet has become a useful tool for workers, companies, students and society in general. It has allowed almost anyone, those with access, to find and post information. While this is a good thing, I find some problems with it.
Those who can see only benefits to the Internet claim that it is easier and beneficial to communicate with other people (Philip Brey pg.3). While I agree with this I argue that the connection between those people could be considered artificial. You don't see the person you are communicating with, therefore you would be unable to see any facial expressions. So it is artificial in the sense that by communicating through the Internet there is a loss of understanding because words can be perceived differently than intended. This goes back to the communication model; the sender sends the message and the receiver decodes it. If using the Internet the only message sent is typed words, the cues, physical emotions, are not perceived by the receiver. This happens less often in one-on-one conversations in person.
I find it difficult to make a real connection with someone or to really know someone until you met them. I recently had this experience when I was looking for a wedding photographer. After e-mailing for several weeks talking about his style of photography and the packages he offered we set up an appointment to meet. Upon meeting him, he was not the same person I'd been emailing all those weeks. He was unprofessional, came unprepared, and did not have an understanding of the typical timeline for a wedding; even though he claimed weddings were his specialty. So while it was great that I had the use of the Internet to find photographers in my area, it would have been different if I had gone to his studio to find information because I would have known right away not to use him.