This is the paradox of modern loneliness. We're more connected than ever before, but rates of loneliness and social isolation are skyrocketing. How is this possible? Well, it turns out that having 500 Facebook friends doesn't necessarily translate to having someone to call when you're having a shitty day. And it’s highly unlikely to translate to a dropped-off, homemade lemon drizzle cake on your doorstep.
https://joanwestenberg.com/the-mind-bending-reality-of-non-euclidean-social-networks
@Daojoan Facebook led to the fact that I cannot take 99% of people around me seriously anymore. A huge amount of loose friendships just stopped when it came up.
For a friendship, I'd expect (a) that we can have rich and interesting communication without Zuck&friends involved, and (b) that not every topic to be discussed ends in "I've seen $FOO in Instabooktoktube." after two minutes.
@Daojoan
It's not just Facebook or Xitter.
I think it's because it's too easy to present a "false face" in social media connections of all kinds, in search of approval/follows/status/etc that are much more difficult to do in real-life, face-to-face or voice-to-voice conversations.
"False face" applies to how both sides of a social media connection present themselves.
Social media connections lack the detailed signals that humans have evolved, over millions of years, to recognize.
Maybe?
@ekongkaar
Good point.
I think of the spider-and-fly and big social media as more akin to sucking money out of people than luring them in.
Social media is psychologically addictive by design. Humans are social creatures, digital media's convenience taps into a fundamental biological principle: Don't waste energy. It takes far more biological energy to visit with people outside those you live with than it does to communicate digitally.
Like other drugs, it needs no flattery!
@Daojoan
@Daojoan If we’re talking about loneliness crisis, we gotta talk about the death of public spaces under neoliberalism.
Yeah people are heavily online, because we’re social animals. But meeting people IRL is expensive now.
Let’s not mistake the symptom with the cause.
Word.
One of my two walking buddies died (probably as a consequence of covid) three months ago, and my mental health has gotten measurably worse.
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