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Do you ever feel the "dormant person feeling"? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The dormant person feeling is a feeling I find myself having on the Internet often. Casually browsing the Internet, I find myself reading through threads and websites that don't look like they've been updated since 2009, or 2010, or ${currentYear - 10}. Profiles that haven't posted in so long either.

When I see just how long ago their last activity was, it gives me the feeling, which I can only describe as a mix of concern, curiosity, and empathy. In my head, I go "I wonder how they are doing now", and "are they alive and well?". Sometimes I find myself "investigating" them or looking them up to see if they are still alive just so I can satiate this feeling of mine.

Do other people experience the dormant person feeling too? Is it wrong to have such a feeling? But hey, if I feel the dormant person feeling, it does show that I do have empathy for strangers, a good quality, I suppose.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 4 months ago

I used to get that feeling now and then, not a need to "investigate" them, but a small sense of lonliness seeing that a place that was bustling with conversation and community isn't anymore.

I think it lessens as you age though.

There are countless situations in life that can cause people to move on from a group, hobby, social circle, forum, etc. I'd argue that most of them are perfectly normal and healthy, like having kids, moving, finding new hobbies, changing jobs, life events changing free time, making new friends, finding a new partner, etc.

Sometimes people find their way back, sometimes they don't.

People don't stay the same forever, so their interests and how they spend their time won't either. I think life would be very boring if that wasn't the case.