As a man in my 40s I do wonder how I'd fare as a 17 year old today. Back in my teenage years I was deeply awkward, spent a ton of time in my room on my computer

As a man in my 40s I do wonder how I'd fare as a 17 year old today. Back in my teenage years I was deeply awkward, spent a ton of time in my room on my computer (IRC, baby!) and was pretty directionless. Eventually I realised that I needed to do something. Talk to girls. Absolutely crashed and burned the first few times I did it but slowly got better. I started attending the parties kids in my school were throwing rather than sitting at home all night. But there wasn't a highly motivated and profitable enterprise targeted at me telling me I was a victim. If the "manosphere" existed back then and I was plugged into all the podcasts telling me how the modern world hates men and treats us all unfairly I might have never left that bubble and would have probably spiraled into bitterness. I can't help but feel like we've cursed younger generations (both genders, different effects) with social media and the influencer economy that has a financial interest in their continued isolation.