Where did everyone go?

Not outsourcing human connection to Silicon Valley apps

(it will make sense)

Hi there,

Everyone is talking but the silence is deafening.

Five things to share:

1. I had a thought recently: Where did everyone go?

   It made me laugh because living in a big city, I’m constantly surrounded by people. Spending so much time around way too many people, how could I still be longing for, craving, wanting for human connection? A small talk about the weather, a chat about grocery prices at the store, a quick vent session about life at the train station? It used to be. The answer came to me just as quickly: Everyone is here, online; talking about the weather, complaining about grocery prices, and venting about life on the World Wide Web. I’m just not there, and it sucks.

2. How Mail Order Marriages Work: A story about love, marriage, and how the internet changes things— for better and for worse.

3. A quote I want to share with you:

   The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer somebody else up.
   — Mark Twain

   As they say, cliché but true.

4. People aren't disposable (or, why apps can't cure loneliness)

   Relationships  —  all types, not just romantic  —  are all too often seen as disposable. If it takes more than the bare minimum effort to stay in touch, we melt out of each other’s lives. If it’s not convenient, we give up on ever spending time together. If letting go is easier than holding on, we let go. And it usually is. 

   Letting go has become so easy. We’re all drunk on options. People become static. They become the noise we try to drown out. We’re swamped with little rows of profile pictures, reducing people to still images. And we forget that they too sometimes wake up at 3 am scared about where their lives are going, and sometimes don’t recognise themselves in the mirror, and have tiny things that bring them inexplicable joy, and have hopes and dreams and fears. 

5. A question for you: What efforts will you make to not outsource your human connection to Silicon Valley apps?

That’s all for this week!

Thank you for reading, and please share with anyone you think may benefit.

time spent offline is now a monthly analog publication you can get delivered straight to your mailbox with 20 ideas every month.

Until next time,

Mehret