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i think this is what truly bugs me. i don’t blame my friends at all for being busy and exhausted, but i also get the sense that it wasn’t always like this- you watch seinfeld or friends and it seems like casual hangs were the norm. you ‘popped in’ or grabbed lunch cause that was just how you connect. it just sucks that somehow 1-2 hours on a weeknight is too much to ask for in the current state of things
May 15, 2025
@MILKBAGS Nobody is free weeknights because their spirit has been siphoned for profit. Nobody is free on the weekend because they need to be rested enough to be “”””productive”””” again on monday, and so on. Sad!
Agreed. So many systems and infrastructure are designed to separate us, not unite us. That’s why when Zuck says that AI can fill in the gaps in our friend group to combat loneliness, it should scare us. That is deeply sinister and should not be normalized. We need real community.
May 14, 2025
@ZENLIKEME it sounds dumb but when that NYT article on the cure for male loneliness being Pickleball clubs it was actually so true! disappearing into cyberspace is going to alienate us further from community, or at the very least isolate us in disparate and atomized online community to the detriment of real world connection
May 14, 2025
@ZENLIKEME Totally agree. And while I love some online spaces and people can forge meaningful relationships from them, it’s not the same as people in our area. I have so many great friends and family around the country, but when my partner got really sick, they couldn’t do a lot for me. Send money or gift cards, yes, but not be here to physically help. It’s one example but it shows how we need people in our immediate community who we can help and be helped by throughout our lives. Online friends are not enough.
May 14, 2025
menial and exploitative labor is bad, but i believe that meaningful labor is actually one of life’s greatest pleasures and a human need. purpose, passion, and provision over productivity!
May 14, 2025
