I'm a frequent poster here, though I never keep my posts up for long. I post in "lonely" a lot because loneliness, more than anything else, is the most dominant factor in my life right now. My loneliness is louder than anything else at the moment, and all the therapy and introspection and self-help hasn't changed that. Only a connection can do that. So it has been my mission, as a severely introverted male, to establish online the sort of profoundly deep connection with someone that I once enjoyed with my ex-wife (of nearly 20 years). Not a duplicate of it, no. No connection can be duplicated. But at least something on that same incredibly deep, incredibly close level. I do talk to men on here, but for the most part my conversations have been with women. And here is what I have learned. Connections like the one I seek don't exist anymore. The world has changed in the 18 years since I met my ex wife, and people are different. Women are different. And, really, I am different too. I've begun to really believe that a connection like I once had is impossible for me now. And yet I'm not the sort of man who will pass his life alone. I will eventually find someone, because I won't quit until I do, but I think it will be more like two people with some compatibility deciding, for the sake of mutual comfort and convenience and as an antidote to loneliness, to join. I really do think that's how it's going to end up, and it makes me sad. Has anyone else reached this conclusion, that people just don't connect like they used to? I blame social media, the smartphone, and our increasing isolation from one another. Somehow we're a bit dehumanized now. Idk. Maybe I'm just ranting because I smoked some weed. Another antidote to loneliness.