I've been thinking a lot about relationships in a modern context. Social media has conditioned us to treat people as disposable — and the logic is seductive: why invest in someone when infinitely more people are just a scroll away?

The Algorithm Is Making You Dissatisfied

The algorithms make it worse. A curated feed engineered to our preferences bombards us with relationships that look frictionless, passionate, perfect. We're not comparing ourselves to our neighbours anymore. We're comparing ourselves to a highlight reel assembled by a machine designed to make us dissatisfied.

People have become placeholders

The result is a cultural shift in how we regard people. Where they were once anchors, they're now placeholders. Something better is always a few clicks away, so we discard rather than endure — and endurance is exactly what lasting relationships require. Boredom and friction aren't signs of failure; they're the natural ebbs and flows of any meaningful bond. But we've lost the appetite for them.

We Used to Have No Choice But to Work It Out

Our communities used to be the people we worked alongside or lived next to — people we couldn't avoid. Difficult conversations weren't optional; they were inevitable. Friction had to be resolved because the alternative was an awkward Monday morning or an uncomfortable walk to the car.

Now we just ghost

Now you can block someone, ghost them, exit without explanation and never have to see them again. The conversation that might have saved something never happens. Leaving has never been easier. And there has never been less incentive to stay.

Anyway, just a random late night thought spiral. Make of it what you will.