To me it feels like many of the relationships/groups you have and people you meet in life is temporary, and the amount of effort you make to keep in touch can s

To me it feels like many of the relationships/groups you have and people you meet in life is temporary, and the amount of effort you make to keep in touch can sometimes never be enough to keep in touch with people that just naturally drift away. I think with IM the issue is that you don't necessarily "cross paths" with people you know unless intentional. It requires some openness, sincerity and a bit of humility to make that contact, which I feel is more stigmatized, even though that kind of approach would mean people would want to talk to each other. It's the type of thing you don't get with modern internet walled gardens and I've put more appreciation and effort to the face-to-face interactions than the ones I do with a screen. But I do miss having interactions with people that had all the same interests as myself, perhaps that's the real difference, restrictions of the real world mean people with the same interests and world view are limited in number and availability by virtue of proximity. Comparing these experiences can warp your view of the world and make you question what you actually value.