Technology has evolved, shaping the way life goes. And each time more, it feels like we’re forgetting who we are to each other. We are more connected than ever, yet somehow, we feel increasingly alone. Every day, people wake up and go straight to their phones, looking at new posts, following overnight gossip about celebrities, or even checking what their friends have been up to while everyone else was sleeping.
At the same time we want to know everything about everyone, it would be good to ask ourselves a very important and uncomfortable question: do we really care?
EVERYTHING HAPPENS LIVE
Everything we do is always shared in the blink of an eye. For example, our lives are connected to the internet in a way that, sometimes, the first thing some people do after the death of a loved one is post a video crying to a sad song.
This is not judgemental, because people cope with difficult situations in different ways. But then, when opening the comment section, there’s always someone asking stuff like “What happened to them?” or “How did they die?”, without even considering writing something nice. And, once again, the question repeats itself: do we really care?
ARE WE HUMANS OR MACHINES?
The curiosity and the need to know everything all the time practically made people forget that, behind a post, there is someone real, with real feelings. The internet is a place where you can find a lot of positivity, but when you see a situation like that, it’s hard to believe that people actually care about what goes on when the phone is turned off.
That might explain why it has become “normal” to turn to artificial intelligence for comfort, because it seems to understand us better than anyone else. But, it’s important to remember that all complex emotions are human. AI can simulate understanding, but it cannot feel. And now, the roles have changed, as we are suffering from a hyper-individualism wave that got to the point where people feel “safer” talking to a computer than to a friend.
IN BETWEEN REAL LIFE AND THE INTERNET
Of course, it’s hard to deal with everyday tasks such as work, school, relationships and the pressure of trying to keep everything balanced. Now imagine having to deal with your tasks, and also having to support someone else. It sounds pretty overwhelming, right? But the thing is: it doesn’t have to be that way. If people helped each other, nobody would have to deal with anything by themselves. It only feels heavy like that because we have convinced ourselves that we are meant to handle everything alone.
Now, this obviously sounds a little dreamy — but it’s just a reflection on how we are so self focused, that we actually allowed those things to happen to the world, without even realizing. No one should ever have to resort to AI to be able to express their feelings without the fear of being judged. And when you think about that, maybe the problem is not technology itself, but the fear we developed of each other.
The fear of judgment is, possibly, one of the strongest forces shaping the way we interact today. Being seen has become risky, because it also means being evaluated. Every word can be misinterpreted, every feeling can be dismissed, and every vulnerability can be turned into something to criticize. So, instead of opening up, people choose silence — or safer spaces where there is no real consequence.
The result of all of this is a cycle. The more we fear judgment and rejection, the more we isolate ourselves. And the more isolated we become, the harder it feels to reconnect. Technology didn’t create this fear, but it made it easier to live around it, so we can avoid discomfort instead of facing it.
RELYING ON OUR HUMANNESS
After all, maybe the real question is not whether we are connected, but whether we are willing to be seen for who we really are. Because in the end, connection is built on the courage to be vulnerable, even when it feels uncomfortable. And if we can slowly let go of that fear, we can start remembering something simple: the person on the other side is just as afraid, just as human, and just as in need of connection as we are.
So, have we lost our sense of community? Maybe not entirely — but we are certainly forgetting what it means. And the more we replace real connection with safer alternatives, the further we drift from each other.
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The article above was edited and translated by Ana Beatriz Carvalho Sapata.
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