> For so many people in my class — blessedly “successful” knowledge workers safely sequestered in pleasant suburbs, college towns or gentrified urban neighborho

> For so many people in my class — blessedly “successful” knowledge workers safely sequestered in pleasant suburbs, college towns or gentrified urban neighborhoods — the horrors we encounter only on social media are a more or less accurate reflection of the lives of millions of Americans. Misery might have a nicer veneer when it's not floating in poverty, but to believe that blessedly “successful” knowledge workers only encounter miserable Americans on social media is a stretch. I think the author overestimates just how good his class has it. Behind closed doors, places like Silicon Valley are just as unhappy if not more unhappy than many other places where people are less educated and less financially secure. Drug and alcohol abuse are common. Many marriages are unhealthy and unhappy. Lots of people are concerned about money even though they have more of it than most people would accumulate in lifetimes. People struggle with their interpersonal relationships and many are lonely. In reality, the suburbs, college towns and gentrified urban neighborhoods can be very unpleasant places. As an example, about a month before I left Silicon Valley, I had a terrible encounter in an upscale coffee shop. A man physically threatened me after he literally stole my table (where my food and belongings were) while I was using the restroom. This was not a mentally ill homeless person as one might guess, but rather a well-dressed young man who might very well have worked at one of the big tech companies surrounding the coffee shop. Instead of author's "other people" approach, I'm going with "misery loves company". Facebook isn't other people. It's you.