Paradoxically, social media undermines sociability. It leads, ultimately, to an erosion of social coherence. Although we are extremely well connected, we are not united. Relationships are replaced by contacts. There is no touching. We live in a touchless society. Unlike physical touch, contact does not create closeness. When the other, the thou, becomes a mere ‘it’ that satisfies my needs or bolsters my ego, the relationship to the other withers. The other in whom I see myself reflected loses its otherness, its alterity. Society’s growing narcissism, which leads to the absence of attachment
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