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Mike Owens's avatar

Another thing to blame on the phones: It’s now taboo to drop by someone’s house without texting first to coordinate a time.

As an elder millennial, I can confirm this was common as recently as the 90s, especially at grandma’s house. If a couple aunts and uncles stopped by, you had a social gathering without even trying.

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CDinWeChe's avatar

Interesting piece about a complicated issue. I'd be interested in exploring the linkage between these antisocial developments and the rise of political partisanship and polarization. Intuitively, the decline and restructuring of social interactions that we have seen this century also lead to a decline in understanding and empathy for others, while also reinforcing our own beliefs and experiences. Because there is so much money to made, and influence to be accumulated, surfing these trends, they only get worse. I feel like we are in a doom loop of atomization and social decay, and I have a hard time imagining a path out of this mess.

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