Unpopular opinion: coworking spaces are killing real connections between digital nomads

I was grabbing coffee at this spot in Medellin last week and this guy named Marco told me everyone just sits there with their noise cancelling headphones on, barely talking. He said we treat these places like libraries instead of communities. It hit me because he was right - I've been going to the same coworking spot for 3 months and only know like 2 people's names. Has anyone else noticed the vibe getting weirdly antisocial?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.charles1mo ago

Pick a spot without a reserved desk system. I started going to Selina in Medellin instead of the quiet spots and made it a point to grab lunch with whoever was around. Bought a cheap bluetooth speaker and asked if anyone minded background music during lunch breaks. Ended up with 4-5 regulars who now grab lunch together every Tuesday and Thursday. You gotta break the library spell yourself though, nobody else will do it.

the_luna1mo ago

@ellis.charles nailed it. That lunch thing is key. I started doing the same at my spot in Bali - just asked a couple people if they wanted to grab nasi goreng and now we have a rotating group of like 6 of us who meet for lunch every day. Its not hard, you just have to be the one to break the silence first.