There are an estimated 6.9 billion people in the world today. Over crowding and over population run rampant. Why does it seem that everyone of those people are lonely?
My guess is my beloved technology has a lot to do with it. Instead of meeting people out at clubs or bars, people hide behind miles of cable and firewalls. Instead of giving a smile and head nod to a stranger people furiously dial the five or six numbers in their cell phone that they actually talk to.
Even businesses rely on computers to do everything from hiring to firing. People like my wife patiently wait two months for a guaranteed second interview because the companies computers went down. Hundreds of horrible employees remain on because bosses are too scared to properly terminate or are too lazy to hand the pink slip to the horrible employee.
People deal with the loneliness in different ways.
Some drink four or five too many drinks to forget they are going home alone.
Some sit in a dark place, whether literal or figurative, crying.
Some hide behind technology.
Some accept being around people they don't really care for, only to have faces in proximity.
Some replace relationships with drugs, sex with porn, and talking with television.
Its obvious that this digital world doesn't allow the same rules that applied to our grandparents for social enjoyment. Largely my parent's generation started proving this. Millions of couples stay together in silence and contempt, while millions of others realize they made a mistake years ago.
So how do you make friends and loved ones when everything else can be downloaded and delivered?
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