Libraries, local game stores, and hobby shops remain places where real human interaction occurs. I recently learned that a local independent hardware store is closing, though, and you can't really replace that with Amazon.

We are going through a version of upheaval for sure, but I hesitate to be either gloom-and-doom or glowingly optimistic about the unknown outcomes. Luddites feared machinery would replace humans during the Industrial Revolution, but it boosted productivity and safety. Technological unemployment has never yet been the consequence of technological upheaval, although the changes are never smooth.

On the other hand, the megacorporations and governments seem to be conspiring against us through laws and "nudging" into always accepting more of a surveillance state in the name of "safety and convenience."