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   sj_zero (sj_zero@social.fbxl.net)'s status on Monday, 01-Jul-2024 11:59:52 JST sj_zero
   Big problem with "touch grass" as an appeal to normal people is that most normal people aren't touching grass. Generations of iPad kids growing up on the Internet, the world's biggest shopping mall filled with all the creeps of the world. People spend too much of their lives on their phones.
   
   I go outside every day I'm home, with my son. Sometimes we go outside multiple times a day. The sidewalks are empty. The parks, it's rare to see someone at the parks and even then it's like one person, not usually a group. The world is a ghost town. It feels to me like the fact of ghost towns outside is a shocking revelation. We all assume someone else is still outside, even as many of us are not.
   
   Where is everyone? Well that's the problem, isn't it? They're online, they're on their phones, they're watching TV. They're physically protected and psychically & psychologically under constant abuse and assault.
   
   The first technology to threaten society is thought to have been the coin. This occurred overwhelmingly long ago, and by trading coins instead of favors, individuals didn't need to have as close relationships between each other, but cities could grow larger. The breakthrough technology that helped people deal with this was organized religion, which brought people together and pushed a common set of values despite money breaking apart interpersonal connections.
   
   It's likely that soon we'll see the development of something to help resolve the problems brought about by the social problems caused by The Internet. Now it might not be something as powerful as organized religion, but perhaps we'll have to collectively learn how to step away from the screens and start going outside again?
   
   I expect it'll have to be a cultural technology, not a digital technology.
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     djsumdog (djsumdog@djsumdog.com)'s status on Monday, 01-Jul-2024 12:06:48 JST djsumdog

     in reply to
     I see people outside all the time. One of the things I hated about living in the Pacific Northwest was how insanely overcrowded all the parks were .. local parks, state parks .. didn't matter. You'd drive an hour out and there'd be a thousand people walking up to see the same view.
     
     I like being back down in the South where it's not that bad. I prefer being on trails with as few people as possible, but there are more and more today (and I can tell they're probably mostly from Colorado).
     
     Lately I've been reading book club books while walking at a local greenway after work. Since I'm reading while walking, it stretches the walk out to an hour, I get out doors and keeping my head in a book helps me ignore all other people.
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     ?? Humpleupagus ?? (humpleupagus@eveningzoo.club)'s status on Monday, 01-Jul-2024 12:09:23 JST ?? Humpleupagus ??

     in reply to
     Pro Tip: You can touch grass without leaving your house.