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Brave New World of Digital Intimacy

Writer Clive Thompson writes in NyTimes a sociology and psychology CliffsNotes on theories like “ambient awareness”, the “Dumbar number”, and “parasocial relationships” to try to understand the whole social networking “microblogging” phenomenon and focuses most of the time on web trends like Facebook’s Newsfeed and Twitter. I don’t agree completely with the idea it’s trying to sell that ephemeral relationships and exchanges mean more than they actually do, but I do agree that not every relationship has to be intimate to be meaningful or to have some value.

Daydream Achiever

We have discouraged daydreaming because we have switched to valuing more the idea of focus. “Letting your mind wander is not productive” you read and hear. It is true that when you’re focused, your chances of resolving problems increases, but daydreaming leads to more problem-solving breakthroughs that people may be are aware of. It warns though, that not every daydreamer is a creative genius:

“The point is that it’s not enough to just daydream,” Schooler says. “Letting your mind drift off is the easy part. The hard part is maintaining enough awareness so that even when you start to daydream you can interrupt yourself and notice a creative insight.”