“nowadays one can talk with anyone, and it must be admitted that peoples opinions are exceedingly sensible, yet the conversation leaves one with the impression of having talked to an anonymity…” – Soren Kierkegaard

There is a slide into abstract sensibility: modernity leads from authentic individuality into a “representation” of an opinionated individual. Kierkegaard was concerned that the effacing of the individual for polite equality (democratic banality) in public life works its way inward to our private relationships.
~ Matthew Crawford, “The World Beyond Your Head”