Interesting. I am GenX but always feel more like the Millennial generation than the Boomers. GenX is hard to label, a small, odd generation, without much cohesion. It’s like we are stuck between, and defined by the group identities larger and more powerful than our own.

I’ll agree that many isolated people, who would have never left the house or entered into a social space, found their doorway on the Internet. Even now I am sick at home, unable to get out of bed, but I can feel like we are chatting. I am not alone.

I guess that is the double-edged sword of the Internet, we are all alone, together, at the same time. Most likely, the complexities of the digital age will only be clear to us in hindsight and 20 years from now when we look back and shake our heads in disbelief.

I sure don’t have the answers. The friend who didn’t come out to help me that night, has helped me at other times, and quite a lot — so I don’t think one instance of ‘not being there’ condemns her. There are times I don’t have anything to give either.

Too bad about your friend lording over you and making the help abusive. That sucks. Assistance, when offered, should be a gift with no strings attached. It’s hard to do, and why sometimes I say ‘no,’ and other times say ‘absolutely YES.’ I give what I can, when I can, to avoid feeling bitter, or nursing a silent resentment. Another balancing act we must learn in the relatively new digital landscape we live in.

Thank you for the thoughtful comment. I appreciate it very much.