Comment by acidburnNSA | Hacker News Reader

Comment by acidburnNSA | Hacker News Reader

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Strikes a chord for me too. I came to Seattle from the midwest where I lived in a Craiglist house with a gang of besties. I met some people here (also via CL shared housing) but since I've paired up and settled in it's been really hard to maintain good relationships with friends. I looked out at the skyline and though, geez there must be tens of thousands of people within a mile radius, none of whom I have any means to communicate with. I was going to do a nextdoor-like startup for sharing tools, rides, events, etc. (it was too be called "neighborcasting") but I didn't pull it off due to engaging day job.

I've also been discouraged because it seems like very many people simply do not want to meet the people around them. For instance, check out this recent thread on the SeattleWA subreddit about talking on the bus [1]. I was kind of flabbergasted by how much people hate it when a stranger talks to them.

It's like there are just too many people and no one has time to connect with any of them in an unplanned fashion.

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/comments/8stzn9/featuring...

> For instance, check out this recent thread on the SeattleWA subreddit about talking on the bus [1].

Before smart phones it was different. Now an interruption is a distraction from our magic dopamine granting machines.

As someone who worked on early smartphones, I feel a twinge of guilt[0]. The addictive nature of the technology really has destroyed any semblance of mental down time that used to exist.

[0] I'd feel more, but Windows Phone didn't turn into a raging success, so I'll let the Android and iOS engineers contemplate the philosophical implications of their code!

Really, I do use it a lot, however I am astounded by the fact some people literally keep their faces at it all the time

When walking (pay attention to the traffic!). When riding the bus. When doing pretty much anything.

It does get boring after a while, to me at least. And looking at nature or other stuff is good.

But no, some people want to stay plugged 100% of the time in some silly freemium game.

> Before smart phones it was different.

Not for me. Crippling social anxiety means that anyone unknown talking to me causes panic. Especially on a bus in London which are reknowned for their, uh, "colourful" characters who may well be a harmless eccentric but could equally well be Stabby McStabberson or Robber McFeralYoot.

London has gone down in the recent years, so I've heard. Do you also feel that?

No more than when I moved here nearly 20 years ago, really. There's more pressure on people (financial crash, austerity nonsense, etc.) but on the whole it seems fairly similar to me.

I spent a year in Seattle riding the bus to work. I couldn't tell you which one. The bus was a cold place for sure. To be surrounded by people all the time and have them all act as though no one else exists.

I guess you havn't been to Tokyo then.

You have to keep in mind that these people are trying to go somewhere, and would rather be at their destination or anywhere else - nobody rides the bus for fun.

There's another aspect I'd consider. The internet has allowed us to target who we connect with. Maybe randomness doesn't yield enough interesting connections and people got used to have exchanges online instead of random people.

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