I think Mrs Robinson meant “scattered across the world” but with the current cybersecurity issues and the way (other than on this site) the Internet is misused by many her first spelling could be equally correct.
I used to live in the same part of England as Gaz – if I were still there and knew the local squatters I would have tried to help him find somewhere to stay but I fear that addictions / TVP have taken their toll on a lot of them and at least a few are now dead or inside.
I can understand how he feels as 20-30 years ago I felt much the same (and TBH so did many other young people worldwide). In late 1980s there was a short term rise in optimism which led to my generation feeling there was actually something worth living for and the Berlin Wall etc fell – around the same time as MDMA and other party drugs became more readily available and their use tolerated. That did change European society for a few years – perhaps even 20 or so but the euphoria eventually wore off, everyone ended up competing with each other worldwide for a limited number of jobs / secure partners / houses etc.
Added to which there was a culture of short term hedonism without thinking of the long term consequences – I noticed this with the outdoor raves which were eventually starting to actually trash the environment they were held in and cause as many problems as the townie drinking culture – the two started to merge in my region until the Police put zero tolerance on the whole fucking lot).
TBH I think that todays young people even though they might have more gadgets have a lesser quality of life than I did in my teens. They have become more “disconnected” in their own region; are less tolerant of “unusual” behaviour ( even if they are not openly racist / sexist / homophobic etc ) and even (real life) friendships and relationships are treated as disposable – it is like everyone is operating in a “zero trust environment”.
