Technology has fundamentally every aspect of modern life. Even if you decide to avoid city life, build a cabin out in the wilderness and live of the land, you’ll likely still want to have a phone in your pocket and post videos about your off-the-grid lifestyle.

What’s perplexing to us is how connected our world is while simultaneously isolating and lonely. Perhaps that’s the nature of working remotely on our laptops, zooming in to our classes, ordering our groceries online, wearing headphones all day and watching shows in the comfort in our own homes. (I’m part of the problem too.) Or perhaps it’s simply an unintended consequence of how we socialize online. Whatever the case, it’s far to easy for anyone to feel isolated and disconnected in today’s age.

Simultaneously, many people have unsubscribed to cultural institutions like religion and nuclear families, without other outlets to connect. (Note: I say this not to persuade you that this is good or bad, rather highlight that in so doing, there is a void of community that was once default in previous generations lives.)

I’m also not saying technology is bad or that we need to go back to the “good ol’ days”. Rather, I’m highlighting that a lot of things that were given now require active participation.