This is from something else I’m writing, but it didn’t fit, so I’m throwing it out here: A sort of inverse version of Metcalfe’s Law is that any node that is not part of a network loses value proportionally as the network gains nodes. A computer without Internet access was no big deal when the Internet had a hundred computers on it; once that number swelled to hundreds of millions, any PC without a Net connection became an antiquated toy.
The same is true of humans. Ask your friend who refuses to have any social network profiles, and sits at home alone on Friday night wondering where the hell everybody went.