Max and Dave were in sync at the diner, but not outside of it.

When Max got off the social media platforms, he had told Dave "you can text me though you got my number." Dave smiled, had assumed that Max would now be getting other hobbies. Maybe reading books or wathcing more shows or going on hikes and lifting weights.

Dave had never mentioned this assumption out loud but Max knew Dave thought this. He never corrected Dave though. Figured it better that his co worker and probably only friend believed that he lived an interesting life. Too sad to explain that actually he just went home and stared at the ceiling until he fell asleep.

After two months off of

social media

, Max realized why people spent so much time on those platforms. It wasn't because they found the information on there useful or interesting. Max's realization came when he was constantly looking at his messages and realized that there was barely anyone texting him. Even his closest friends from the past would only reply with curt responses. Sometimes they wouldn't respond at all.

People barely spoke to each other these days one on one. Being on social media was a way for them to fill in that void. To feel like they were in some shared space.

It had taken two weeks for Max to no longer feel the pain of 'belonging' somewhere. Before he would scroll subreddits and feel like he was part of a discussion sort of like being at a bar in the old days. Now he was used to and even preferred the quiet of being alone.