I think you are arguing from outliers here. contrary to how it may seem on the news, mass shootings are quite rare events, even in the US. the fact that you and

I think you are arguing from outliers here. contrary to how it may seem on the news, mass shootings are quite rare events, even in the US. the fact that you and I have registered accounts and made at least one post on HN makes us outliers even in this community. are there some people for whom virtual spaces are more real than their neighbors and IRL friends? sure, but most people don't seem to be like that. as far as I can tell, most people use social media to interact with an extended network of IRL friends/family. some people do try to get tons of followers that they don't know on instagram, but I think even this is best understood as jockeying for status among IRL peers. note: IRL is a somewhat antiquated term this days, but I use it as a shorthand for "relationships that originate in in-person interactions". so if I had a friend A who moved away and befriended B there, but we all play video games together, B is still an IRL friend to me.