--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I take a benign view of digital…" description: "\"I take a benign view of digital connectedness. I notice in most young people's lives, Facebook and such doesn't replace normal dating or hanging out, i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-brooks-644_benign_i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connecte_1967241.png" --- # I take a benign view of digital connectedness. I notice in… ![“I take a benign view of digital connectedness. I notice in most young people's lives, Facebook and such doesn't replace normal dating or hanging out, it just facilitates it.” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-brooks-644_benign_i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connecte_1967241.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-brooks-644_benign_i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connecte_1967241.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-brooks-644_benign_i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connecte_1967241.png) > “I take a benign view of digital connectedness. I notice in most young people's lives, Facebook and such doesn't replace normal dating or hanging out, it just facilitates it.” [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Digital platforms extend social interactions rather than replace face‑to‑face relationships, acting as tools for connection. **In simple terms:** Online tools help, not replace, real life. Key Takeaway Use digital media to complement, not dominate, personal relationships. Themes technology social dynamics modern life Mood reflective balanced Type opinion observational When to use this quote - dating apps - friendship maintenance - family communication - network building Key Concepts media theory social capital Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance online convenience with offline intimacy? - What boundaries should we set for digital socializing? A Different Perspective Overreliance can diminish deep interpersonal skills. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benign/) [Connectedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connectedness/) [Dating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dating/) [Digital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digital/) [Digital Connectedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/digital-connectedness-3281209/) [Facilitate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facilitate/) [Hanging out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hanging-out/) [Lives Facebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-facebook-3281210/) [Normal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal/) [Normal Dating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normal-dating-1814262/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Twitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twitter/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [“And I’ll tell you now, I won’t be calling you tomorrow or the next day or the day after that, so don’t get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-mckenna/and-i-ll-tell-you-now-i-won-t-be-calling-you-tomorrow-or-the-next-day/) [Cara McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-mckenna/) > [“How different would I be, if I'd never met him? Might I have had a normal dating life like my friends did, flitting from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-harbison/how-different-would-i-be-if-i-d-never-met-him-might-i-have-had-a/) [Beth Harbison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-harbison/) > [I hate dates. It becomes a weird auditioning process. And I've never had normal dating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliette-lewis/i-hate-dates-it-becomes-a-weird-auditioning-process-and-i-ve-never/) [Juliette Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliette-lewis/) > [I set out to really build this universe of interfaith connectedness, where people could see that other people in different parts of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-set-out-to-really-build-this-universe-of-interfaith-connectedness/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“We all have the same root, and are connected... To tap into this connectedness we must go within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summerlyn-guthrie/we-all-have-the-same-root-and-are-connected-to-tap-into-this/) [Summerlyn Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summerlyn-guthrie/) > [Letting the last breath come. Letting the last breath go. Dissolving, dissolving into vast space, the light body released from its heavier form. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/letting-the-last-breath-come-letting-the-last-breath-go-dissolving/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [“I miss that feeling of connection. Knowing he was out there somewhere thinking about me at the same time I was thinking about him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranata-suzuki/i-miss-that-feeling-of-connection-knowing-he-was-out-there-somewhere/) [Ranata Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranata-suzuki/) > [“Travel opens us up, exposes us to new people and places. New thoughts, new ways of being and a larger feeling of connection. And,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-kouvas/travel-opens-us-up-exposes-us-to-new-people-and-places-new-thoughts/) [Erin Kouvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-kouvas/) > [Be at Peace with Everyone - No one is capable of making you upset without your consent, so if you begin practicing the intention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/be-at-peace-with-everyone-no-one-is-capable-of-making-you-upset/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [They are the kinds of things that make us a community: attachment to place, attachment to local arts traditions, the ability to read literature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/they-are-the-kinds-of-things-that-make-us-a-community-attachment-to/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [Only through our connectedness to others can we really know and enhance the self. And only through working on the self can we begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-through-our-connectedness-to-others-can-we-really-know-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is always connected to beauty. When you see someone acting by their principles, their wisdom makes them beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/wisdom-is-always-connected-to-beauty-when-you-see-someone-acting-by/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [“Sitting outside on a dark night, under the stars, invites confidences amongst people of all ages, and all walks of life. It invokes an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-shepherd/sitting-outside-on-a-dark-night-under-the-stars-invites-confidences/) [A.B. Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-shepherd/) > [We started off with physical evolution and got our form. Then we somehow developed language, which meant cultural evolution could race so we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-started-off-with-physical-evolution-and-got-our-form-then-we/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [The key is to be in a state of permanent connectedness with your inner body - to feel it at all times. This will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-key-is-to-be-in-a-state-of-permanent-connectedness-with-your/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## More by David Brooks > [The brain is not the mind. It is probably impossible to look at a map of brain activity and predict or even understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-brain-is-not-the-mind-it-is-probably-impossible-to-look-at-a-map/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [When you're running for president, you're a guest in the living room for four years. And if people don't think you're going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/when-you-re-running-for-president-you-re-a-guest-in-the-living-room/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“I’ve come to think that flourishing consists of putting yourself in situations in which you lose self-consciousness and become fused with other people, experiences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-ve-come-to-think-that-flourishing-consists-of-putting-yourself-in/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [We have rapidly increasing technology, which is making life very good for people who are good at using words, and not so good for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/we-have-rapidly-increasing-technology-which-is-making-life-very-good/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I think Barack Obama's foreign policy will be regarded more failure than success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-think-barack-obama-s-foreign-policy-will-be-regarded-more-failure/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [If you know that most processing is below the level of awareness, you learn the value of sleep. You're brain is working on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/if-you-know-that-most-processing-is-below-the-level-of-awareness-you/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Trade has suddenly become massively unpopular. I think that's massively unjust. I think free trade has been wonderful for America on balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/trade-has-suddenly-become-massively-unpopular-i-think-that-s/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Politics is based on social identity, and so, again, there is going to be differences between rural and urban and between left and right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/politics-is-based-on-social-identity-and-so-again-there-is-going-to/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Pain now is better than pain deferred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/pain-now-is-better-than-pain-deferred/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [It’s worth noting that you can devote your life to community service and be a total schmuck. You can spend your life on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/it-s-worth-noting-that-you-can-devote-your-life-to-community-service/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [If it feels all right for you, it's probably OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/if-it-feels-all-right-for-you-it-s-probably-ok/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I do think Donald Trump is a fundamentally unstabilizing force and that the people who swore to uphold the Constitution are going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-do-think-donald-trump-is-a-fundamentally-unstabilizing-force-and/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Tim Kaine has been obviously a governor. He's been a senator. He's one of the smartest rising stars in the Democratic Party. He is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/tim-kaine-has-been-obviously-a-governor-he-s-been-a-senator-he-s-one/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“Women, in general, are less visually aroused than men, a trait that has nearly cut the market for pornography in half.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/women-in-general-are-less-visually-aroused-than-men-a-trait-that-has/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I wasn't born with a tie or with Mark Shields stapled to my left hip. I have another life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-wasn-t-born-with-a-tie-or-with-mark-shields-stapled-to-my-left-hip/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) [Explore all 431 David Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## More Benign quotes > [The plausible outcomes range from the gradual and benign to the more precipitous and damaging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-geithner/the-plausible-outcomes-range-from-the-gradual-and-benign-to-the-more/) [Timothy Geithner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-geithner/) > [Whereas religions may serve a benign purpose by letting many people feel comfortable with the level of morality they themselves can attain, no religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/whereas-religions-may-serve-a-benign-purpose-by-letting-many-people/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Factory-farm lobbyists are so powerful and so well funded and they do everything in their power to hide the truth about farming. They keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/factory-farm-lobbyists-are-so-powerful-and-so-well-funded-and-they-do/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Fame is indeed beautiful and benign and gentle and satisfying, but happiness is something at once tender and brilliant beyond all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/fame-is-indeed-beautiful-and-benign-and-gentle-and-satisfying-but/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [Cultural institutions by and large share one primary objective: herd control. Even when ostensibly benign, their propensity for manipulation, compartmentalization, standardization and suppression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/cultural-institutions-by-and-large-share-one-primary-objective-herd/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/every-single-empire-in-its-official-discourse-has-said-that-it-is-not/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Acid wasn't getting a whole lot of bad press at the time, and as I saw the whole bad-press thing happen, I became aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-rettig/acid-wasn-t-getting-a-whole-lot-of-bad-press-at-the-time-and-as-i-saw/) [Tommy Rettig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-rettig/) > [Beneficent spirals, operating by benign feedback, mean that everything needful is not required at once: each individual improvement is beneficial for the whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/beneficent-spirals-operating-by-benign-feedback-mean-that-everything/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-looked-up-at-the-mass-of-signs-and-stars-in-the-night-sky-and-laid/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Orders can be benign or malign, but the habit of obeying them can become ingrained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/orders-can-be-benign-or-malign-but-the-habit-of-obeying-them-can/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [Intelligence may indeed be a benign influence creating isolated groups of philosopher-kings far apart in the heavens... On the other hand, intelligence may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/intelligence-may-indeed-be-a-benign-influence-creating-isolated/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Every major player is working on this technology of artificial intelligence. As of now, it's benign... but I would say that the day is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-bell/every-major-player-is-working-on-this-technology-of-artificial/) [Ted Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-bell/) > [Of course, I prefer organic farming to chemical-dependent farming, but sometimes absolutist organic prescriptions go too far. I don't even rule out the possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristram-stuart/of-course-i-prefer-organic-farming-to-chemical-dependent-farming-but/) [Tristram Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristram-stuart/) > [How do you survive living in a cell knowing you are innocent? Many of those exonerated whom I have met seem to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lagravenese/how-do-you-survive-living-in-a-cell-knowing-you-are-innocent-many-of/) [Richard LaGravenese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lagravenese/) > [Human nature has its fatal weaknesses, but 'love' means embracing the whole of human nature, the bad within the good, the benign within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/qiu-miaojin/human-nature-has-its-fatal-weaknesses-but-love-means-embracing-the/) [Qiu Miaojin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/qiu-miaojin/) [Browse all 210 Benign quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benign/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I take a benign view of digital connectedness. I notice in most young people's lives, Facebook and such doesn't replace normal dating or hanging out, it just facilitates it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connectedness-i-notice-in-most-young/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Benign" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connectedness-i-notice-in-most-young/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-brooks-644_benign_i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connecte_1967241.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-brooks-644_benign_i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connecte_1967241.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-brooks-644_benign_i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connecte_1967241.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I take a benign view of digital connectedness. I notice in most young people's lives, Facebook and such…” — David Brooks", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Brooks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I take a benign view of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connectedness-i-notice-in-most-young/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-take-a-benign-view-of-digital-connectedness-i-notice-in-most-young/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```