A Lot of Our Closest People Have Turned Cyborg
How technologies of fake intimacy kill real friendships
I join John DeVore, Stephen Moore, and Matthew McFarlane in bemoaning the onset of Meta. The last thing we need is another ill-conceived way to leave reality behind. But to be honest, some of my friends have already left the building.
After years of swiping left, thumbs-upping, and IMing on digital platforms that value clickability over humanity, a lot of our closest people have turned cyborg. Still part human, their hearts are now ruled by a relentless desire for digital encounters with people they haven’t yet met — and they grow immune to real intimacy. Their insatiable FOLO thirst for infinite future connections prevents them from feeling actual connections in the real world. Even with their closest friends.
Fake intimacy destroys the possibility of real intimacy and it leaves real friends feeling abandoned.
Reprogrammed by social media at the deepest neuroemotional levels, our cyborgs share what used to qualify as intimate personal details with 23 perfect strangers before lunch. In addition to blindsiding their closest confidants (“Are you saying you told everyone? Even anonymous_dangerduck_788?”), their daily ritual of…
