I think another problem is that our online lives are so siloed. We don’t even have a common platform to connect with people like this on. Is the 80 year old woman down the road going to join a Discord server? Is the twenty something going to have Facebook? If we use email are people going to know how to use reply all?
Completely agree. Maybe that's the nice thing about other places like in the EU where they all just use WhatsApp. But not only does the platform need to be something people use, but needs to facilitate the right type of conversations via its design (such as channels or threads). Any digital solution in this way is insufficient for all needs, but I reckon the 80 year old down the street is more likely to go to the local church for their community needs.
The bad news is that rebuilding community would take a generation. Those of us who grew up without it are stunted in ways we don't realize; entrenched in an individualism we cannot unlearn.
The good news is that it will *only* take a generation. As we humans are instinctively a community species and the next generation will build it organically.
I think another problem is that our online lives are so siloed. We don’t even have a common platform to connect with people like this on. Is the 80 year old woman down the road going to join a Discord server? Is the twenty something going to have Facebook? If we use email are people going to know how to use reply all?
Completely agree. Maybe that's the nice thing about other places like in the EU where they all just use WhatsApp. But not only does the platform need to be something people use, but needs to facilitate the right type of conversations via its design (such as channels or threads). Any digital solution in this way is insufficient for all needs, but I reckon the 80 year old down the street is more likely to go to the local church for their community needs.
The bad news is that rebuilding community would take a generation. Those of us who grew up without it are stunted in ways we don't realize; entrenched in an individualism we cannot unlearn.
The good news is that it will *only* take a generation. As we humans are instinctively a community species and the next generation will build it organically.