Those social medias you speak of are very much shite and that's putting it mildly. They can be weaponized against someone as well so it's not particularly wise to put it all out there. It also opens up all your vulnerabilities to everyone to see, also not such a good idea. I think that people are so filled with apathy and they have no caution factor anymore so they just blurt out everything.
There is a lot that I keep off Hive as well for similar reasons.
As far as the quote goes, well it is not a very good idea but it also depends on your own interpretation of a friend. I, like you have quite a strict policy of who would classify as a friend and those that brandish the name I can count on one hand. I'm totally ok with that too as I don't feel the need to have loads of people in my circle.
I would have loved to have been around in those days though to witness how their culture worked. Inspirational band of people!
I agree, they acheived a great deal and whilst seemingly barbarian warriors were in fact far more than that. I think it's good to look at their concepts through the Sagas and Eddas and apply them to us now. Of course, over a thousand years ago things were different, words meant different things and people thought differently. Some will translate and some won't.
I can't disagree with the stuff you say about social media and I believe most would be better off without it. Life was better before Facebook and Instagram and all. People were more connected to those that mattered and less connected to those that did not.
I think that their lives were very different. They were hard but also a lot simpler than what we live these days. Arguments were settled differently and friends were those that you worked alongside with and had full trust in, those you knew you could go to battle with and potentially be saved by or die for.
I love Hive and I've met so many really great people through it, but the others just don't have any soul. They detract more than they add of any good and I'm trying to do away with things like that. I'm a simple person and would rather spend 4 hours with a great friend drinking coffee and talking shit than spending 1 full hour on one of those platforms.