The Ties That Bind

Sept. 10, 2007 — -- Peter Oakley's 80th birthday was the best celebration of his life. The retired widower, living in the English countryside, received wishes and gifts from people around the world -- most of whom he did not know -- thanks to the Internet.

Oakley led a quiet existence, but when he decided to post videos of his autobiographical musings -- called "Telling It All" -- on YouTube, he received thousands of e-mails from fans moved by his grandfatherly online presence.

His videos were often simple declarations about his age. In one he says, "I really am as old as I look, and, therefore, I think I'm in a unique position, what I hope I'll be able to do, is bitch and grumble about life in general from the perspective of an old person who's been there and done that."

In a little more than a week, Oakley, also known on YouTube as "Geriatric 1927," became the most subscribed to user on the site.

When ABC asked him how his life has been enhanced by his newfound Internet connections, he replied, "More than I have the words to express."

Although Americans spend more than 2 million hours online a month -- most of that time spent communicating with others -- surveys reveal that Americans by and large still view the Internet as a destructive force when it comes to personal relationships.

But recent research shows that the Internet actually helps people maintain and strengthen existing ties and forge new ones. So which is it? Do our hard drives have a heartbeat or are they the death knell of actual kinship?

ABC News talked to those whose lives were made better because of the ties they've made on the Internet.

Ryanne Hodson and Jay Dedman are video blog pioneers. Before YouTube and other online video Web sites, they were posting their lives online. At the time it was a small community and they began casually observing each other's videos from afar. Ryanne lived in Boston and Jay in New York City.

Their friendship gradually turned into a virtual courtship with nightly uploads of romantic declarations.