Protect Your Peace from Modern Stressors

A few months ago, I joined an app that was designed to connect real-life neighbors online. I was hoping to get the inside scoop on new restaurants and maybe catch some local gossip.

Instead, I got exactly one good tip about a new ice cream shop—and a ton of aggravation. One neighbor's complaint about a panhandler quickly touched off a no-holds-barred, ALL-CAPS debate about mental health policies in our city. Soon, even harmless questions about parking spots somehow degenerated into vicious screeds complete with NSFW language and name-calling. Within weeks, I deleted the app.

The Connectivity Conundrum

Being constantly connected to friends, family, neighbors, and the world at large has a lot of benefits. But the advent of social media and 24/7 technology has also brought about more and more ways to drive us crazy.