Two articles that caught my attention from today’s washington post..
I had been thinking that the news cycle had quieted down post-Trump, but of course that’s right before I noticed the breaking news of the boulder shootings.. tsk tsk..
It’s hard to notice change when it’s an absence, or lack of…. there’s less of that constant news chaos energy, and that creates a different collective feel.. now the public can use that mental and emotional energy into other pursuits.. possibly productive, but more likely it will just get caught by other attention sucking forces…
This ‘friendship doubt’ piece from the health section was interesting, I’ve always suspected many were struggling with social isolation.
I remember early weeks and months of pandemic, there was more hunger for zoom social interactions, chats, etc. That sorta died down late summer, and I also transitioned to this forum in the fall.
This identity affirmation pointer might be something we’ll figure out better after the post-covid normal better forms. Seeing each other live, in person, in real life (IRL), bouncing off each other’s energy in their presence, likely strengthens something about one’s sense of self and place.
And it might not need to be close social friends, just being in a crowd and navigating so many other bodies, likely gives a physical sensation of place, difference, invisibility, etc. Being stuck too long in the same environment, maybe your social positioning radar and navigation muscles atrophy?
