Heard a guy at the hostel say hostels are just 'shared anxiety' now

I was checking into a place in Portland last week and this guy said hostels used to be about swapping tips, now everyone's just glued to their phones comparing Booking.com prices. It made me realize I miss the days when you'd trade a bus schedule for a good restaurant lead, you know?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_daniel11d ago

Oh man, that hits hard. I've been seeing this same shift everywhere, not just in hostels. Even at the local coffee shop near me, people used to chat while waiting for their pour over. Now it's dead silent, everyone scrolling. It feels like we traded spontaneous connection for this low grade hum of digital background noise. I think we're all so scared of missing out on a better option that we forget to actually experience where we are. Your mileage may vary, but in my experience the shared anxiety thing is real, and it's seeping into all kinds of places we used to meet strangers.

ellis.rose11d ago

@the_daniel do you think we're actually scared of the people, or just out of practice with the whole talking thing?