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I've been thinking about this for a long time. About 5 years ago, me and some friends got together to build a "Dating app but for people looking for friends and

I've been thinking about this for a long time. About 5 years ago, me and some friends got together to build a "Dating app but for people looking for friends and activity partners". Fortunately, we all quit before we got in too deep. It didn't seem like a problem that had any good solutions. Today, I'm convinced that a technology solution is not the right approach. Screen addiction and various dopamine hits from social media have produced a catastrophic collapse of various IRL social institutions that traditionally facilitated opportunities to meet new people. The most practical "if I had a magic wand..." solution that I can think of is to wave a magic wand and undo all forms of screen addictions that has destroyed our IRL social interactions.

dnissley 7y ago
Screen addiction and various dopamine hits from social media have produced a catastrophic collapse of various IRL social institutions that traditionally facilitated opportunities to meet new people. The book "Bowling Alone" documented this collapse and was written between 1995-2000, well before the advent of smartphones and social media. While I'm not convinced a technology solution is necessarily the right approach, what you're suggesting is straight up waldenponding.
- ardy42 7y ago
  > The book "Bowling Alone" documented this collapse and was written between 1995-2000, well before the advent of smartphones and social media. Smartphones and social media may just be the latest and most extreme manifestation of technological changes that were already underway then. Before you had smartphone screens, you had television screens, etc.