Feeling alone in the world? Maybe you should spend more time online.

Sound crazy? That’s what I thought. But it looks as though our gadgets may not be as isolating as previously thought. According to the Pew Internet Personal Networks and Community survey, modern technology actually may help us broaden our social circles.

Although a 2006 study argued that in the last two decades, people have become more socially isolated, the Pew study found that people who reach out through cell phones and the Internet have larger and more diverse social networks than those who don’t.

Pew researchers found that relatively few Americans truly are socially isolated, with only 6 percent of adults saying they have no one of special significance with whom they can discuss important matters. Average Americans have smaller social networks than they did 25 years ago and are most likely to discuss important matters with people related by blood or marriage. But among cell phone users, the core discussion groups are 12 percent larger. They’re 9 percent larger among those who share photos online. And they’re also 9 percent larger for those who engage in instant messaging.

Widening the net

While only 45 percent of Americans discuss important matters with non-relatives, 55 percent of Internet users discuss key issues with people outside their families. Internet users are also 38 percent less likely than non-Internet users to rely on their spouses or partners as their sole confidants on important issues.

Who are their confidants?

Well, if they use the Internet to share online photos, they’re 61 percent more likely to have discussion partners who cross political lines. If they frequently use the Internet at home, they’re 53 percent more likely to have confidants of other races, and if they maintain a blog, they’re 95 percent more likely to have discussion partners of other races. So not only is technology exposing them to a larger number of people, it’s also exposing them to a wider variety of people and ideas.