Technology made the pandemic bearable. It’s also behind our national crackup.

by Ian Marcus Corbin

If all goes to plan, vaccines might spring us from our digital purgatory by late summer. Some of us will hurl ourselves into the messy, rich world of in-person sociality. But others will have grown accustomed to the algorithmic comfort of Netflix and dinners dropped silently on the porch — and might not be so quick leave them behind.

One way lies the potential for national healing, the other a continuation of our national crackup.

To be sure, Zoom, smartphones and social media have allowed many to remain healthy, sane, employed and somewhat connected during the covid-19 pandemic. But these nine months of tech dependency have also accelerated a less-welcome process long underway: the atrophy of our friend-making muscles. That has deeper implications than you might think.