Lent 2026 Day 29 – We Need People
One of the things I chose to abstain from for Lent was Twitch – both streaming and viewing other streams. But it has cut me off socially from good friends I enjoy interacting with there, and it occurred to me during a sleepless night last night that I'm feeling socially isolated.
It doesn't help that, in addition to taking a break from Twitch, I deleted my Discord because I don't trust the company anymore. So I've been trying to seek out other online communities on IRC, Jabber, etc. but not really finding any that click with me.
I plan to reengage with Twitch before Easter while trying to be careful about not using it as mindless entertainment or background noise.
But I also realized: I have no real-life friends that live near me. My only IRL social interaction is with my family and my church community. I love my family dearly, but we need friends, too. And I love my church community, but I don't interact with them much outside of church meetings – with the exception of occasional visits in their homes as part of my leadership role, which I absolutely love.
Online friends are great, and I have met some genuinely good people that way, but electronic interaction is no substitute for in-person interaction.
We need people. And I need to make more friends in real life.
#100DaysToOffload (No. 156) #faith #Lent #Twitch #family #friends #loneliness #tech