Brett Cooper

And it is even true when we're talking about making friends.

Now, even though all of that is true, from everything that I see on social media that I experienced in my own life, people are still yearning for in-person real connections.

Like we are not satisfied with the online hubs we've created and we romanticize, every single day I see it, we romanticize a time without social media.

In fact, one recent article that was written about 90s nostalgia, which I think in large part was inspired by that new FX series love story about JFK Jr.

and his wife Carolyn.

Anyway, it's just a whole thing that's filling up right now.

But this article reads, part of the allure of the 1990s is longing for the days when we were a monoculture, a world before the fractured intake of smartphones, a time defined by, retrospectively, a comforting reality in which we experienced many of the same things at the same time.

But I think there's more to it.

What New York, or the fantasy of it, offered in the late 90s, again talking about this series, was an outsized version of what so many of us are craving now.

The promise of real life connection mixed with the potential of wealth, beauty, and love.

And here's the thing, my friends, we can still have that, despite New York City being a shithole, obviously, but the bones of that kind of culture and those relationships, they are still there.

And at some point, it honestly is just up to us to do something about it.

So obviously, then we are left with what is the solution?

Now, going back to both of Emma's articles, in her opinion, and also in my opinion, the solution is quite simple.

All hope is not lost.

If my case is any proof, partying is a teachable skill.

Again, you learn by doing.

You might not be a party person, and the idea of having a house full of revelers might sound daunting, expensive, or mathematically improbable.

When I recently told an acquaintance that I had invited 100 people to a party, he replied, I don't even know 100 people.

Which is fair, but I promise it can be accomplished.