Things Are About To Get Much Lonelier

Connections, exposure and extreme probability

By: Vernon Felto

The Innovation of Loneliness from Shimi Cohen on Vimeo.

We tend to think that through social networks, we’ve somehow become more social creatures. The problem with this theory is the more we “connect” online, the less actual human interactions we have, making us, in truth, fairly unsocial.

Inspired by a book by Sherry Turkle, Alone Together and also based on Dr. Yair Amichai-Hamburgers hebrew article, The Invention of Being Lonely, a video by Shimi Cohen shows exactly what’s wrong with our social structure now, and how we manipulate how we want to be presented to peers, family members, and potential mates on social media, rather than having vulnerable and genuine conversations in real time. Worth a click.

However, be careful with what you click and how you try to fend off the loneliness. In Richmond, BC four young men fell victim to blackmailing scam after sending private images to women. Online conversations were struck with women who convinced them to expose themselves on webcam to unknown women. Then they were blackmailed by the women. The RCMP says, “keep private images private” and that males are at risk as much as women.

But are there bigger problems we should be dealing with? Should we be so concerned about our online presence when we are potentially eating ourselves alive?

NEu