The first influencer?

I dated a wild woman, I quite miss her

Grew up in Bozeman MT, about an hour’s drive from Butte.

This makes me realize the trope of “young person from the west who just wants to GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS TOWN” is much older than I thought.

I think this may always have been a thing. The idea of 'differentiation' in psychology might be related; where young adults seek for ways to be _different_ than their parents/siblings/peers.

If you're curious to read her book yourself: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Mary_MacLane

Hmm. I sometimes think that people in the past were "the same as us", just in a different environment. Could you imagine such a young woman writing such a book today ?

The damage done by instant messaging and endless entertainment is unfathomable.

We, and more importantly our kids, are becoming dumber and this is but another proof on the pile. What is to be done about it ? Raise luddites ?

The writing suggests that "main character syndrome" has existed long before the term existed.