But at the same time, this account fits right in with more recent ones that I’ve come across about how difficult it is for people to find social networks offline, particularly for young men (I think the author was in his late 20s when this was published?).
Whenever I talk to people who are much older than me it strikes me how much work and effort goes into the maintenance of their offline social networks. The non-existence (to some older folks) of online social networks doesn't stop them from maintaining relationships, often over the same long distances. It is, like you say, a matter of forming those relationships instead of maintaining them that is getting harder.
"By late 2012, I'd learned how to make a new style of wrong choices off the internet. I abandoned my positive offline habits, and discovered new offline vices."
Basically - you just find new bad habits...!
