Ask HN: Do you know someone with no online presence? Are they really better off?

I know more than a few. They're guys over 35, upper middle wealthy, type-A personalities who see the internet as a news source, but social media and arguing with people online is something their wives and kids do. They don't work in tech, and made their money in real estate, trades, and then some finance guys. They have serious hobbies like woodworking, sailing, fly fishing, hunting, camping, cars and motorcycles, farming, horses, musicianship, etc. They're doing just fine. I see them at bbqs and pub nights. They're low on the neuroticism and agreeableness scales and don't engage internet culture. Men, basically.

Looking at a lot of people involved in hacking, journalism, activism, and various illegal darknet operations, they all have a minimal online presence, at least one that spills from real life to the internet. But now those kinds of things kind of <i>require</i> minimal online presence, but I know plenty of people go low and earn a lot. Word of mouth is valued a lot more than advertising in a lot of circles.

My wife. Teaches people to ride horses. Grew her business by word of mouth. Takes cash and checks, no Venmo. Lines up rides mainly through a landline phone. (No cell service in our valley.) Nominally there is a domain name for the farm, but no real web site, she does do some business through email.

The Internet will not replace face-to-face IRL interaction. As humans, we are wired for connection. This is why many lonely people try to make up for their loneliness by being terminally online. It&#x27;s only prosthetic connection though. (And when I say face-to-face I don&#x27;t mean video calls).

Social media has made Attention a Currency (a store&#x2F;signal of value, tradable for other stuff etc). People who can Capture Attention, are going to think its the greatest thing in the world, totally essential to their existense. But the bar is quite low. Even cats can capture attention. Which makes it a very unusual currency, with many bizzare properties, and effects on the people who use it and need it.<p>But the good news is, its not the only currency. So anyone who has ways to accumulate any of the other currencies will do just fine. Like the cats.