Quick One – The Antidote is Human Connection

So I've been thinking about human connection a lot. A little because it's at the center of our lives and we don't even realize it, very much so because I felt isolated for the longest time.

Remote work gets to me. I mean the "working from home alone" kind of remote work. For some it's the dream. Not for me. Yes it's convenient. Saves you time and everything. Also starves you of human connection.
Thank all the old gods and the new the metaverse didn't come to pass.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending one of the most beautiful weddings I ever had the honor to be a part of (I even was the ring bearer!). Weddings are human connection on oxytocic steroids. We're celebrating love – what could be more reason for jubilation?
Anyway, everything was phenomenal. But what I loved most was seeing all my friends. Sadly, this has become a rarity. It feels like after hitting 30 years of age, meetups become more scarce.

When you hit your thirties, there's this weird shift all of the sudden. Half of your friends are married with kids, a quarter is engaged or pregnant, while the last bit is sidequesting single through life. This difference switches everybody's priorities around. You seem to blink, and haven't seen some of your best friends in half a year.

Then it hit me: I see most of my friends more on the six inch screen in my pocket than in real life.

This has somehow become the new normal. But receiving life updates through Instagram stories (or WhatsApp stories, hello boomers) is not the kind of human connection we all long for. We have godlike technology, which doesn't mean we should try to automate the thing that makes us human: the connection to each other.

But not all is lost. I believe, especially with the advent of artificial intelligence, in-person meetings will make a comeback. What's even better is that we can be the change we want to see: instead of just liking someone's post, reach out. Look other people in the eye. Meet in person.

In "The Hobbit" (yes, welcome to nerdtown), Gandalf urges Bilbo to join the dwarves on their grand quest to reclaim their home, the mountain Erebos. Only problem: Erebos has been occupied by Smaug, a dragon. Bilbo declines the offer, remarking mockingly that he has all the adventures he needs in his books at home. Gandalf plainly answers:
"The world is not in your books and maps. It's out there."

For our current societal predicament, Gandalf's message was neatly translated in a (yes, the irony is not lost on me) YouTube comment:
"The world is not in your phones and apps… it’s out there"

So are real people – your people.
Go find them.