One: the loneliness crisis goes back further than we think; this is way more than just a case of “Internet bad;”

Two: this is not a loneliness crisis, it’s a fear crisis;

Three: by the time we even considered how much media was isolating us, it was too late; it went on for decades.

Like patterns in a tapestry, recurring themes emerge in my interviews with addicts: the drug as emotional anaesthetic; as an antidote to a frightful feeling of emptiness; as a tonic against fatigue, boredom, alienation and a sense of personal inadequacy; as stress reliever and social lubricant. And, as in Stephen Reid’s description, the drug may—if

... See more