RELATIONSHIPS
Intimacy Without Proximity
RELATIONSHIP COMPETENCY IN A DIGITAL WORLD
BY BEN LYTLE
The way we relate is profoundly and permanently changing . The last decade has reshaped how we relate to each other . Social media created a rapidly evolving discussion forum that is sometimes sweet or nostalgic , other times inane , and too frequently ugly . The COVID-19 pandemic restricted in-person connections as never before in history and accelerated digital communications by at least a decade .
On October 28 , 2021 , Facebook ’ s parent company was renamed Meta , as Mark Zuckerberg explained in his Founder ’ s Letter . The announcement is far more than a name change . It is a commitment to a new generation of the Internet called the Metaverse , which Meta believes will change every person on the planet — especially how we relate . Zuckerberg ’ s letter states , in part , that “ The next platform will be even more immersive — an embodied internet where you ’ re in the experience , not just looking at it .” He says of this new Internet platform : “ The defining quality of the metaverse will be the feeling of presence — like you are right there with another person or in another place .”
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