Summary
Churches across the U.S. are grappling with dwindling attendance and financial instability, forcing many to close or sell properties.
The Diocese of Buffalo has shut down 100 parishes since the 2000s and plans to close 70 more. Nationwide, church membership has dropped from 80% in the 1940s to 45% today.
Some churches repurpose their land to survive, like Atlanta’s First United Methodist Church, which is building affordable housing.
Others, like Calcium Church in New York, make cutbacks to stay open. Leaders warn of the long-term risks of declining community and support for churches.
The internet can never be community.
Bullshit. There are millions of communities on the internet. Maybe not the kind of communities you personally want, but communities just the same. Don’t gatekeep how others interact with different social groups.
Also there are countless communities that exist both online and in meatspace. You can enjoy people in the real world, go home and resume those connections via internet with the same people. Those people don’t cease to exist when they’re not physically standing in front of you.
These are not just letters on a screen. They were put here by a human being named Kevin. I have an entire life, history, interpersonal connections, my own thoughts and feelings. Tomorrow you will likely see more things that I write along with everyone else who’s part of This community.
There are no communities on the internet, there are ephemeral places where people go to waste time. That’s it. That’s what the loneliness epidemic is. People are killing themselves because the internet is not community and it can never be one.
Have you ever wondered why people on the internet are so nasty? It’s because we can’t actually see each other as people here. Yes, you assume every commenter is a person, but your subconscious can’t see it. There’s no face, no voice, no body, no presence, and its even worse with pseudo-anonymity. This isn’t community. You don’t even know my fucking name.
I have an entire life, history, interpersonal connections, my own thoughts and feelings and none of that is on the internet. Here I am a floating text box for you to yell at and talk down to, and for all you know I am a bot. You will never care about me or anyone else on a forum the way you will a real person, no matter how much you insist otherwise. You can’t, because this isn’t a community. We are all perfect strangers that are here to beat each other up for fun.
We can’t help each other here. You have to log off.
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You’re projecting.
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I actually fell in love with someone after dating in virtual reality during COVID. After several months she moved to my state, and we’ve been together for four years now. Seems pretty fuckin real to me.
Why did she move? I thought the internet was good enough and you didn’t need physical connection!
I have met some of the closest friends I have ever had on the internet. There is a space on the internet I go to every day to interact with people who I am close with as people I grew up with. We’ve met up in person and were just as good friends.
I also have friends around the world I have spent years sharing my life with and theirs with me- photos, videos, things they’ve written or drawn, questions, deep conversations… and I’ve never met them in person. I have a dear friend in Turkey who I have known since the 1990s and we’ve never met. I love him like a brother because we’ve helped each other through so much even though we’re on opposite sides of the planet.
You need to stop projecting your experiences on everyone else.
