IMO a big, post-internet, problem is that people aren’t experiencing foundational relationships as children/teens that were the learning experiences to prepare people deeper connections like marriage.

Agreed. I started noticing it on Reddit a few years ago, and now that a new generation is reaching adulthood on both Reddit and Lemmy, it's even more obvious. More people are reaching their 20s without having developed the social skills and real-world experiences that previous generations picked up naturally.

Society has always had socially awkward or isolated people, but technology has def amplified the problem. When I was younger, I spent most of my time around other people because there wasn't an easy way to retreat into a digital world.

That constant face-to-face interaction forced people to learn how to socialize, resolve conflicts, and build relationships. Now too many people are missing out on that.

The number of socially maladjusted people online today is crazy now. I also think that besides just more social awkwardness and lack of marriages, it's leading to more stalking and fixation issues for those same people.

I've had people obsessively follow and harass me on Lemmy just because I post news articles they don't like. Not new behavior, but the scale of it seems greater than ever.

When people struggle to form meaningful connections and feel little control over their lives, online conflicts can become an unhealthy substitute for real accomplishment or social belonging. Which leads to less relationships, and more stalking and unhealthy obsessions.

And a special shoutout to my personal Lemmy stalker, who will want to downvote this comment. A perfect example of my point. Hopefully this discussion causes him to self-reflect and refrain from doing that so he can move on. EDIT: He didn't refrain. Hi, NewPerspective. lol