Tokyo—Japan, land of the electronic pet chicken, is fretting(发愁) over the potentially lethal(致命的) dangers that go with the lonely, high-tech life of the modern world.
The debate has been stoked(添火) by two women believed to have been killed by a robber they met on a telephone dating service. A third woman survived an encounter with the same suspect.
"Sensitive young people who do not make friends easily may find it easier to communicate by phone or computer," said an editorial in the daily Asahi Shimbun.
"But this case demonstrates that as means of communication become easier and more anonymous, those who use them are also exposed to more potential dangers."
Certainly Japan offers the shy an array of methods to avoid embarrassment in meeting potential partners or avoiding social contact altogether.
A big hit for youngsters last year was the Lovegetty, an electronic gadget for finding a date.
The palm-sized Lovegetty transmitters come in male and female versions and when two strangers of the opposite sex come within range they begin to beep, allowing the start of a chat-up without fear of immediate rebuttal(拒绝).
Japan also gave the world the Tamagotchi, or electronic pet, a hand-held device with a screen displaying an egg which must be "nurtured" into a young chick by pressing the right buttons.
Questions about isolation and a widespread lack of social skills are well-worn in Japan's press despite the abundance of apparently tightly-knit communities. This has been partly attributed to a rise in juvenile crime.
On December 7, police arrested a man suspected of meeting women via a telephone dating service, giving them sleeping pills and robbing them. Two of the three victims allegedly died from the cold after being left outside.
"It is hard to believe a woman would associate with a stranger whose motives for meeting her are unknown," wrote the Asahi. "One explanation is that young people place too much trust and reliance on modern communications such as cellular telephones and computers."
Young and old Japanese people alike were faced with the question of how to make friends in a world where associations had become more fluid.
According to the passage, the modern world can be described as the following EXCEPT ______.

A. lonely
B. isolated
C. high-tech
D. sensitive