Stopping to check his stocks in Monkey Mountain in Book Two

I spend a lot of time online. You do too. It is rare to hear about anyone these days that doesn’t. There are a few holdouts. There are people who don’t own a cell phone. I know one. There are people who don’t have social media, a YouTube channel or a place to write down their thoughts.

But when I walk around the city, I look into restaurants and clinics and tea shops, and when I see people sitting on the concrete benches that are behind my building or on the train or MRT – I see people on their phones. Some are playing games and some are messaging friends. I was hiking in the mountains the other day and I noticed one guy checking his stocks*. That seemed an odd juxtaposition.

Online life is better than real life.
Online friends are better than IRL friends.
I suppose what I like is familiarity without closeness. Intimacy and companionship, like we have on a journey with strangers. We are here together and can share an experience and part of the journey but only for a while.

d-_-b

*(There was a lot of red and very little green.)