# Making Connections - Synthesis A By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2026-01-25 People define outcomes more than the medium does. Committed individuals _can_ form meaningful relationships through virtual technology. The question is, will they? Of course, at least some will. But it is doubtful that most will. Is this any different than when in person? Maybe less so than it first appears. Most people tend to be absorbed in their own lives. Taking time to connect with each other and be invested is a cost and an exposure. Maybe it is unreasonable to expect that workers would make such an investment in each other regardless of the medium through which work is enacted. If a bet was forced, perhaps the smart money would be on the likelihood of making such a social investment is greater when work is conducted in person than when it is virtual. Social connection and solidarity are more than a point of profit in a game of chance. Investing in each other improves individual lives and communities. It is progressive and transformative. Focusing too much on the medium likely detracts from this ultimate goal, which is both utopian and pragmatic. The real is preferable to the fake. Phoniness was produced in person long before the virtual was even imagined. In this respect, the superficiality that is common to virtual engagements is likely misattributed to the medium. Whereas the medium is perhaps more amenable and conducive to its enactment, it is certainly not its cause. The human proclivity to the phony and superficial abounds. Whether working in person or virtually, benefits arise from attempting to overcome these inclinations, which limit personal fulfillment and social cohesion. #### Related Items [[Work]] [[People]] [[Authenticity]] [[Reality]] [[Remote Work]] [[Fulfillment]]