Our world is full of attempts to create a faux everything. Attempts to get the same thing with less work or less time.
Flip side to our tool making ability is that we are always looking for shortcuts. Great aspect of humanity that can have a dark side if not mastered -- like ADD or our sense of competition. Extremely helpful when harnessed but dangerous like a runaway team of horses if let completely loose.
We are surrounded by faux agriculture that creates immense quantities of food that looks great but has minimal nutritional value. Surrounded by faux privacy that we call anonymity, substituted because we are overcrowded. Surrounded by fake health achieved by blocking symptoms instead of dealing with causes. Surrounded by fake news that seeks to tell us the world is something other than it really is, that tries to steer our collective consciousness.
And, with the internet, surrounded by fake community, a fake sense of "connectedness" that entices us to stay buried in it and ignore the real connectedness that surrounds us every day, just waiting to be discovered.
And yet -- through this same artificial medium our souls can connect and interact and remind each other what is important.
Great post -- I enjoyed reading it!
It's certainly a complex issue.
While the minute-to-minute connections may not be genuine, with everyone having an online persona that is a fun house mirror reflection of their reality, the truth is I've also made some deep, real connections as well.
I suppose if we're to make the best of this transition as a species, we as individuals should remain vigilant.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment.