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Comment by magic_beans | Hacker News Reader

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to simply teach people how to have conversations with other people?

Social skills are just expected to develop naturally. But social grace and the ability to have a good conversation with someone are SKILLS -- they need to be learned and honed.

Before we start automating companionship, why don't we start teaching people how to communicate with other people?

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Parents, schools, churches, and society have been trying for 1000s of years. So "why don't we start?" isn't the most useful question. Ask "why has this perpetually failed?"

I think in this case, skills aren't the limiting factor. Most people have them, but not sufficient motivation to overcome shyness and fear of rejection. Education can teach skills, but not give people motivation.

And have succeeded until relatively recently... technology isn’t the solution to this.

People need to share some commonalities or worldview to communicate well especially at some depth, which is a prerequisite for long-lasting friendships.

Career specialization, accelerating changes in lifestyles across generations and groups, social stratification, and having more individual choices in media consumption likely contribute to increasing social isolation in general.

People love to have communities they connect with at a deeper level. This and the above help explain why top hi-tech centers like Silicon Valley and NYC tend to propagate themselves and even mid-tiered hubs find hard to compete with. Decisions by Google and Amazon to expand in NYC despite high cost-of-living are examples of their effects.

You act like these people were alone their entire lives. If we're talking about a retirement home, I'm sure it has more to do with all your friends passing in front of you.

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