We humans do better mentally, physically, and emotionally when we can be near one another. Digital communication can only be a substitute for in-person connection.
levels. We humans are not meant to be alone. We evolved in small groups for self-defense and safety, because we needed protection against the apex predators that roamed the world we lived in then. We humans like to hang out together.– a precursor to diseases like the flu and lots of other maladies – can cause us to reach out to our fellow human beings in order to find support.
The common idea in each of these studies is that we are not meant to be alone; we do better when we have other people in our lives. We do better mentally, physically, and emotionally. The pandemic taught us that people suffer in isolation. Of course, there arewho thrive on solitude, but for most of us, at least the occasional company of our families, friends, neighbors, peers, or fellow humans is essential for our well-being.
We are a communal species, like ants, bees, and flocks of starlings. Digital means of connection should exist as extensions and enrichments of our basic human, but they should never be thought of as substitutes, or strong enough on their own to replace face-to-face sensory input. We need to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch our fellow humans. Deprived of this data, we make up negative information about other people.
We should never think of virtual communications as adequate substitutes for in-person connection, but rather as a stop-gap, or temporary replacement, or modest enhancement of existing real face-to-face interaction. We evolved long ago to do that rather well, and it will be a long time in the future before we’ve evolved to handle digital communications with anything like the same verve., is president of Public Words Inc.
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