"Groceries, goods, interaction, entertainment, work. Now we can have our groceries delivered. Our goods shipped. Surrogate parasocial connections via social media and the internet. Schooling at home. Work at home. Doctor's visits at home. Entertainment at home. It's possible to almost never have to leave the home, and that's becoming normal. Leaving the house is antiquated for many. It's making us insular and divided and paranoid and hateful of each other, and oddly making in-person activities feel special. And I don't think we realize how not-normal it is to just never see other people."
"How little we interact with each other in person. Growing up, if you wanted anything, you had to leave the house."
Technology and delivery services allow people to meet needs without leaving home: grocery delivery, shipped goods, social media connections, at-home schooling, telework, telemedicine, and streaming entertainment. These options make it possible to almost never leave the house, and that pattern is becoming normal for many. The decline in routine face-to-face contact fosters insularity, social division, paranoia, and interpersonal hostility. As a result, in-person activities gain novelty and feel special. Many people do not recognize how atypical sustained avoidance of other people is historically or socially, and everyday community ties and norms are being reshaped.
Read at BuzzFeed
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