Member-only story
Lost Souls in the Digital Wilderness
…with everyone I care about hiding in plain sight.
My best friend was having a birthday party. They posted the event both on Facebook and on a new platform called Partiful.
I never saw the invitation.
Somewhere between the shifting sands of social media and the capriciousness of algorithms, the message was lost. When we finally spoke, they weren’t upset. It made perfect sense in today’s fragmented digital landscape.
Once upon a time, Facebook was the reliable town square — a place where important life events were shared and seen. Birthdays, engagements, new jobs, and simple daily joys all found their way onto our feeds, connecting us in a web of shared experiences. But lately, that town square feels more like a shopping mall full of bland chain retail, way too large to find any of my friends, full of content but devoid of meaning or connection.
Ever since I remotely attended events during the pandemic — like an EFF gathering in Austin — Facebook seems convinced that I’m equally interested in happenings halfway around…
