I lived before the internet existed as well. I know full well the positives of it and just how revolutionary it is for human interaction, at least in theory. It has helped shape my identity, gotten me jobs, led to the pursuit of my own aspirations, and is now making me a killing with digital currency. If it just stopped there, things would be great, but I feel that we've lost a lot in the way of interpersonal interactions with just how ubiquitous non-verbal communication has become, and that's even before we get into the quantifiable rise of hatred and bad politics. People can disassociate themselves much easier when a screen acts as a separator. Even in this very thread whenever some level of vitriol pops up, I imagine it would be a fraction of that were we to communicate face to face. I say this all knowing I've benefited a lot from this method of communication as I have pretty severe social anxiety.
