The Internet, and in particular social media, is both a boon and a curse. One of the good things about using social media is that occasionally one gets the chance to reconnect to people with whom you have been out of touch for a long time. Here is an example of this that I experienced a few years ago.

George, which is not his real name, was one of my fellow pupils at the primary school I attended in the second half of the 1950s. In those days, he had red hair, which to my then young eyes was a curiosity. More than 20 years later I was visiting a friend who was studying at the University of Cambridge. As we walked past the University Library, I spotted George. It turned out that he was at the same college as the friend whom I was visiting. We stopped and exchanged a few words.

About forty years later, I connected with George on the LinkedIn social media website. Soon after this, he sent me a message, suggesting we meet up. We arranged a date, and agreed to meet at a restaurant near one of London’s railway termini. The location was chosen because he lived out of London and used the train to visit the city.

I arrived at the restaurant before him, and he turned up a few minutes later. Although he had aged and his hair was now grey instead of red, I recognised him. We ordered a meal and chatted pleasantly while we ate. He explained that he preferred meeting at a restaurant rather than at home when he had not met the other person before, or, at least as in our case, not for a long time.

At the end of the meal after we had settled the bill, he admitted to me:

“Well, you are not the person I was expecting to meet.”

I was not sure how to react to that, as he was exactly the person I was expecting to meet. Additionally, although we had a pleasant enough time together, I did not feel any urge to meet him again.