Craig.
For me it's a game or a pastime, I usually work about 30 hours a week and don't have any friends or a social life so I've got plenty of time on my hands which needs to be filled.
I meet loads of people in my business activities but as a result of having to maintain a professional demeanour at all times I've never had a conversation in real life in which I was able to match wits with another person, to verbally joust or debate points of view so the internet gives me that opportunity.
So, no I do it purely for myself, not others and I don't use social media like Facebook or Twitter precisely because potential clients might read what I write and assume that I actually hold those views as convictions or beliefs, in real life I agree with whoever is holding the cheque book

Jay, that's a pretty poignant comment, which I suspect may resonate a little with lots of people for whom the 'net has become the major mode of social interaction. Thank you for being so candid, perhaps it might give some others the lead in sharing their own stories. Do you mind expanding on the reasons you find yourself in the socially isolated position you describe?

I found your comment struck a chord with me. I had a fairly unpleasant few years after a pretty nasty divorce and I'm afraid most of my friends found reasons not to maintain close contact after copping one too many earfuls of my misery. The 'net was a lifeline for me at that time, and like you, I relished the chance to hone my argumentation and rhetoric, which as it happened stood me in good stead in dealing with legal and bureaucratic matters. 10000 hours and all that...

What a waste of time!

Craig,
I'm married with kids and I have numerous business associates so I don't feel isolated at all, I just don't have any friends or a social life, that's down to me being perceived as a blunt, intolerant jerk most of the time.

Jay, given my earlier observations about the futility of these endless reiterations of stale topics which are nonetheless significant and with the benefit of your own experience and knowledge, do you have any suggestions about how the discussions might better be pursued? It seems to me that the discussions here reflect a situation within the wider community that really needs to be addressed.

It extends to politics generally, unfortunately, with discussions of political matters in the media and emanating from the parties often more reminiscent of schoolyard class elections than what might be expected of the people we trust to lead us. Silly talk of promises takes the place of debate about priorities; public bipartisanship is so rare as to be noteworthy instead of being the default as one might expect when all sides are acting to come to an optimum solution to genuine problems. Among the public political discussion has degenerated to sloganeering and assertions of dislike for specific political figures (it's rare for anyone to express a liking for anyone), all of which is based on nothing more than a shallow perception of personal interest driven by an even shallower media.

What can we do about it?

Great to be constructive otherwise why bother. A good place to start is to go back to the original article with this in mind. If any of you would seriously like to have the life of the primary caregiver, why not have this discussion with your partner. If she can get back into the workplace she may happily do so and you can experience the life up close and personal.

Joannie,
Been there, done that and worked a 40 hour week on top of it, being a full time homemaker is an easy life for either sex but an unequal division of responsibilities and chores when both partners are working full time as well is obviously unfair.
The other point is that running a home with children in it gets easier as they grow older, it's intense at first but from the age of ten or so they can take on simple chores and a few years on from that they are capable of cooking a meal, cleaning, gardening etc.
What's noticable is that the status of children within the family has also changed, they used to be our employees, now they're the bosses in many households with the parents working flat out to please them, running them about all over town and so forth.
Back in the day my brother, sister and I would have to do all our chores before we were allowed to ride our bikes the two miles into town to see friends or go to the swimming pool, Mum and Dad were just too busy to run us around.
That's what I meant in my earlier post about people making a big job of an easy lifestyle, if you make your kids help out, if you don't submit to their every demand and whim then with today's labvour saving appliances it's possible to get all your housework done in a few hours and have most of the day free.
Heck it's not even necessary to go shopping anymore, you can order your groceries online, get a standing order every week or even get pre made meals delivered if you can afford it.
Not to mention robot vacuum cleaners, combination washer driers, microwave ovens, cheap disposable nappies and the seemingly endless list of mod cons available to today's homemaker.